Chile: José Antonio Kast sworn in as president in conservative shift after Boric
Kast, 60, takes office after his landslide victory in the December 2025 runoff against Jeannette Jara, in an election shaped by concerns over crime, irregular migration and the economy
José Antonio Kast was sworn in as Chile’s president on Wednesday in a ceremony at the National Congress in Valparaíso, in a transfer of power that confirmed the country’s sharpest shift to the right since the return to democracy in 1990. Senate President Paulina Núñez administered the oath and placed the presidential sash on him, formalizing the handover from Gabriel Boric.
Kast, 60, takes office after his landslide victory in the December 2025 runoff against Jeannette Jara, in an election shaped by concerns over crime, irregular migration and the economy. In his first remarks to reporters as president, he said his administration would mark a turning point. “There’s going to be a before and an after. Whoever attacks a police officer attacks Chile,” he said after a police officer was left brain-dead in a shooting in Puerto Varas, an incident that gave his first day in office an immediate security focus.
The new president took office alongside his Cabinet in a ceremony attended by several foreign leaders, including Spain’s King Felipe VI and the presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay and Panama. Key ministers include José Francisco Pérez Mackenna as foreign minister, María Trinidad Steinert as security minister and Fernando Rabat as justice and human rights minister.
The incoming administration is presenting itself as a hard-line government on public order and border control, combined with a market-friendly economic agenda based on deregulation and fiscal restraint. Kast has avoided placing culture-war issues at the center of the opening stage of his presidency, instead focusing on the areas where his coalition saw the outgoing government as most vulnerable: security, migration and growth.
His political room for manoeuvre, however, will be limited. Kast takes office with a divided Congress and no clear majority, a scenario that could complicate efforts to move his main bills quickly. Analysts said the first 100 days of his administration will be critical in showing whether he can turn electoral momentum into an effective legislative agenda.
Kast’s inauguration also reshapes the regional map. His arrival strengthens South America’s conservative bloc and opens a phase of closer alignment with Washington, in contrast with the frictions that marked Boric’s final stretch in office. For Chile, the new cycle begins with a clear promise of change, but also with a demanding domestic front and a less stable international backdrop than the one that accompanied his election.
With information from EFE and AFP
