Chile’s new president, José Antonio Kast, already started mimicking Trump and ordered the construction of “physical barriers” along the country’s border with Bolivia in a bid to “deter irregular immigration”, fulfilling a key campaign promise.
“Please increase the number of personnel,” Kast told Army Commander Pedro Varela, “and I also charge you with collaborating in the construction of physical barriers to stop illegal immigration” at the border, during a ceremony where he signed his first six decrees—three of them focused on immigration control.
According to his data, 337,000 foreigners are currently living without documentation in Chile.
Taking Office
The far-right lawyer José Antonio Kast was sworn in as Chile’s president on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Speaking to thousands of supporters gathered in front of the presidential palace, Kast called on his ministers to conduct audits into the state of the country left by outgoing leftist President Gabriel Boric.
“They are handing us a country in worse condition than we could have imagined,” Kast said, positioning himself as Chile’s most radical conservative leader since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
In his first address to the nation, Kast promised his “emergency government” would not be just a slogan.
“Chile needs an emergency government to face the crises in security, health, education, and employment—and that is what we will have,” he declared.
Kast also vowed a hardline stance against what he called “Chile’s enemies,” including both Chilean and foreign criminals.
“We will pursue them, find them, judge them, and condemn them,” he said, a message that resonates with Chileans concerned about rising crime.
A New Political Era
In recent years, many Chileans have moved away from the push for a new constitution that emerged from the 2019 social upheaval. Boric, who attended the inauguration, had been a leading advocate for constitutional reform, but the process collapsed after two failed attempts.
A devout Catholic and father of nine, Kast represents “a conservative right like we haven’t seen since the return to democracy in 1990,” said Rodrigo Arellano, a political analyst at the University of Development.
The new administration’s focus on border control and security marks a sharp shift from the policies of the previous government and signals a new chapter in Chilean politics.
Source: Globo
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