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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, June 11th 2026 - 07:59 UTC

Tag: Jose Antonio Kast

  • Friday, June 5th 2026 - 23:06 UTC

    Chile's far-right proposes a 'Museum of Truth' on the Allende era to counter coup memory

    The coup led by Pinochet ousted Allende and began a 17-year dictatorship (1973-1990) in which thousands of people were killed, disappeared or tortured.

    Seven of the eight deputies of the National Libertarian Party (PNL), the far-right group founded by Johannes Kaiser, presented a resolution in Chile's Congress asking President José Antonio Kast to create a “Museum of Truth” devoted to what they describe as “the abuse, hunger and humiliation” of the Popular Unity government, led by Salvador Allende from 1970 until his overthrow on September 11, 1973.

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  • Monday, June 1st 2026 - 22:59 UTC

    President Kast denounces 3.6%-of-GDP structural fiscal deficit inherited from Boric administration

    “We inherited a country with the accounts in disarray, and our obligation is not to complain, but to order them,” Kast said in the legislative chamber

    Chilean President José Antonio Kast on Monday delivered his first annual Cuenta Pública address before the National Congress, based in Valparaíso, in a speech of two hours and twenty-five minutes centred on the country's fiscal situation and on criticisms of the outgoing administration of leftist Gabriel Boric (2022-2026). The president denounced that the incoming executive received a preliminary structural fiscal deficit of 3.6% of Gross Domestic Product, more than double the 1.6% committed to by the previous government, and characterized the situation as an “economic emergency” requiring urgent measures.

  • Sunday, May 31st 2026 - 21:19 UTC

    Kast defends first 81 days in office ahead of first “Cuenta Pública” before Chilean Congress

    “These 81 days have felt to many like 365, because many things happen, but I want to underline that we are moving forward through facts because this is a hands-on government,” Kast said

    Chilean President José Antonio Kast on Sunday defended the first 81 days of his administration and reaffirmed his main campaign promises on security and migration, on the eve of his first “Cuenta Pública” address to the National Congress, scheduled for Monday in Valparaíso. The far-right leader took office on 11 March and faces on Monday his annual accountability address amid a sustained decline in approval ratings and on the eve of the first legislative test for his government, the Senate vote on the so-called tax megareform.

  • Friday, May 29th 2026 - 06:42 UTC

    Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru sign joint agreement to combat transnational crime

    “This is not just a political gesture, it is not a diplomatic milestone,” Kast said at the opening, arguing that “there can be a before and an after here”

    The governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru on Thursday signed in Santiago a joint cooperation agreement against transnational organized crime, in a meeting convened by the Chilean government of President José Antonio Kast and attended by five foreign ministers, four security ministers, and one interior minister. The so-called Santiago Regional Compact articulates five areas of cooperation and will be presented before the 56th General Assembly of the Organization of American States to extend the initiative to the rest of the continent.

  • Wednesday, May 20th 2026 - 01:39 UTC

    Chile: Security and Spokesperson ministers fall in first cabinet reshuffle of Kast's government

    “I did not expect to carry out this cabinet reshuffle, it was not what I had planned for this stage,” Kast said

    Chilean President José Antonio Kast on Tuesday carried out the first cabinet reshuffle of his administration and removed from their posts the Security Minister, Trinidad Steinert, and the Government Spokesperson, Mara Sedini, in a reorganization that amounts to the fastest ministerial adjustment in Chile since the return to democracy in 1990. The decision comes just over two months after the inauguration of the far-right president, against a backdrop of falling presidential approval to around 40% and an increase in public disapproval to 60%.

  • Wednesday, April 29th 2026 - 15:11 UTC

    Chile's labor market hits 38 months of unemployment above 8% as growth forecast is revised down

    INE attributed the increase to a 0.7% rise in the labor force, above the 0.5% registered by the employed population, which translated into a 3.3% increase in the total number of unemployed persons

    Chile's unemployment rate stood at 8.9% during the moving quarter from January to March 2026, a 0.2 percentage point increase over twelve months, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The figure exceeded market expectations, which projected 8.6% according to the Bloomberg consensus, and completes 38 consecutive months with the indicator above 8%, confirming a structural weakness in the Chilean labor market that remains one of the main concerns of President José Antonio Kast's administration, in office since March 11.

  • Friday, April 24th 2026 - 19:49 UTC

    Kast–Paz rapprochement opens door to potential restoration of Bolivia–Chile relations

    The diplomatic shift responds to a direct “mandate” from the presidents of both countries — far-right José Antonio Kast, who took office in Chile on March 11, and center-right Rodrigo Paz

    The foreign ministers of Bolivia, Fernando Aramayo, and Chile, Francisco Pérez Mackenna, agreed on Friday to deepen bilateral ties and advance a joint economic agenda, amid a decisive diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries after nearly five decades without ambassador-level relations. The meeting, held at an event organized by the Chamber of Industry, Commerce, Services, and Tourism (Cainco) in Santa Cruz, concluded a two-day official visit by the Chilean minister.

  • Monday, April 20th 2026 - 18:02 UTC

    Irregular Venezuelans in Chile want to leave but can't: no papers, no consulate, no return mechanism

    Of the more than 336,000 migrants in irregular status in Chile, 75% are Venezuelan

    As President José Antonio Kast's government ramps up its campaign against irregular immigration with deportation flights and promises of mass expulsions, thousands of undocumented Venezuelans in Chile face a paradox: they want to leave but cannot do so legally. Without valid passports, without Venezuelan consular services in the country and without a formal voluntary return mechanism, they are trapped between a government that does not want them and a homeland they cannot reach.

  • Friday, April 17th 2026 - 11:06 UTC

    Chile launches deportation flights under Kast with 40 migrants expelled to Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia

    The operation is not unprecedented in Chile. Under the government of Gabriel Boric (2022-2026), more than 20 deportation flights were carried out and roughly 4,500 people were expelled

    The government of Chilean President José Antonio Kast carried out its first deportation flight of irregular migrants on Thursday, expelling 40 people on a Chilean Air Force (FACh) Boeing 737 that made stops in Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. The 19 Colombians, the last group to disembark, arrived in Bogotá shortly after 8:00 p.m. local time. The 17 Bolivians and four Ecuadorians were dropped off previously in La Paz and Guayaquil, respectively. Each deportee traveled accompanied by an officer from Chile's Investigative Police (PDI).

  • Tuesday, April 7th 2026 - 05:05 UTC

    Chilean President Kast backs Argentine claim over Falklands in first state visit to Buenos Aires

    Milei thanked Kast “on behalf of the Argentine government for the traditional support of the Chilean government on the Malvinas Islands Question.” Photo: Juan Mabromata / AFP

    Chilean President José Antonio Kast formally backed Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and surrounding maritime areas during his first state visit to Buenos Aires, where he met his counterpart Javier Milei at the Casa Rosada.

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