Chile's New Far-Right President: A Pinochet Admirer's Rise to Power
José Antonio Kast, a Pinochet supporter, has won Chile's presidency by promising to tackle crime. His hardline policies and background have alarmed many.
In the small rural town of Paine, just south of Santiago, the whitewashed facades and shuttered shops belie a deeper unease. It was here that José Antonio Kast, Chile's newly elected president, was born and raised. Kast's resounding victory in December's election was fueled by a widespread fear of crime that has gripped the nation, but his background as an admirer of the Pinochet dictatorship has caused alarm among many Chileans.
Kast, a far-right politician, campaigned on a platform of cracking down on crime and restoring order. His tough-on-crime rhetoric and promises to deploy the military to combat violence resonated with voters, particularly in more conservative and rural areas like Paine. However, Kast's open admiration for Pinochet's repressive regime has raised concerns about the direction he might steer the country.
