Chile’s Jose Antonio Kast sworn in as president

BOGOTA, Colombia

Jose Antonio Kast was sworn in as Chile’s new president on Wednesday during a ceremony at the National Congress in the coastal city of Valparaiso.

The 60-year-old leader formally assumed office in the Hall of Honor. Outgoing President Gabriel Boric attended the ceremony and handed over the Piocha de O’Higgins, a traditional symbol of the Chilean presidency, to his successor.

Following the inauguration, Kast was scheduled to meet foreign delegations for a luncheon at the Cerro Castillo Presidential Palace in nearby Vina del Mar, in line with Chilean tradition.

Later in the evening, he is expected to travel to the capital Santiago and address the public from the balcony of La Moneda Palace.

The ceremony was attended by numerous international leaders, including Spain’s King Felipe VI, Argentine President Javier Milei, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, Honduran President Nasry Asfura, Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chavez, Paraguayan President Santiago Pena, and Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, along with foreign diplomats.

Kast, a lawyer from a family of German origin, has long been a prominent figure on Chile’s far right.

His political career began while studying law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he joined the Gremial Movement founded by Jaime Guzman, a close ally of military ruler Augusto Pinochet and one of the architects of the country’s 1980 Constitution.

He spent nearly two decades in the right-wing Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party, serving as a municipal council member and later as a lawmaker from 2002 to 2018.

In 2019, Kast founded the Republican Party, saying he wanted to represent a harder political line than what he described as a moderating traditional right.

Known for advocating tough security policies, opposing immigration, and promoting conservative social views, Kast has frequently drawn controversy for remarks seen as sympathetic to the Pinochet era.

After unsuccessful presidential bids in 2017 and 2021, Kast secured victory in his third attempt, defeating left-wing candidate Jeannette Jara in a runoff last December.

*Writing by Seyit Kurt in Istanbul