MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ayuso honours Kast in Madrid on the eve of the Ibero-American Summit: “We defend the same things”

Kast, on his first European tour since taking office in March, replied that Madrid “is one of the most open, free and prosperous regions in Europe” and stressed security, the focus of his government

The president of the Madrid regional government, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, on Monday awarded the region’s International Medal to Chilean President José Antonio Kast, who is in the Spanish capital for the 30th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government. “On both sides of the Atlantic we defend the same things,” Ayuso said at the ceremony.

“We are free nations and we defend our governments and liberal democracies and the rule of law, which will not yield to authoritarianism,” said the People’s Party leader, who contrasted Chile with Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Ayuso praised Chile as “an example of what a nation can achieve when it trusts its citizens” and highlighted Kast’s “commitment to freedom, security, prosperity and the defence of institutions”. “We do not want citizens dependent on power; we want them to be masters of their own lives,” she added.

Kast, on his first European tour since taking office in March, replied that Madrid “is one of the most open, free and prosperous regions in Europe” and stressed security, the focus of his government. “It is the first duty of the state. And when the state fails in that duty, the most vulnerable pay. Without security there is no order, without order there is no peace and without peace there is no freedom.”

The Community of Madrid’s International Medal, created in 2017 and purely honorary, is awarded on the regional president’s personal initiative. Previous recipients include Argentine President Javier Milei and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa; Venezuelan opposition leaders Juan Guaidó and Edmundo González; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Pope Leo XIV; and the United States, for the 250th anniversary of its independence. Manuela Bergerot, spokeswoman for Más Madrid in the regional assembly, accused Ayuso of turning the award into “the membership card of her far-right international”. A group of demonstrators protested outside the regional government headquarters.

Kast began the day with a private meeting with Vox leader Santiago Abascal, with whom he has close ties, and plans to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during the summit, which brings together the countries of Latin America with Spain, Portugal and Andorra.