Chile’s rightwing government seeks reset after lost honeymoon

{"text":[[{"start":7.8,"text":"Chile’s rightwing president, José Antonio Kast, is attempting to relaunch his presidency after just three months, as the global energy shock and stumbles on his flagship security pledge dashed his shortlived honeymoon."}],[{"start":21.25,"text":"Kast, a conservative hardliner, defeated Chile’s mainstream parties in last year’s elections with a pledge to lead an “emergency government” that would quickly tackle an unprecedented wave of organised crime, and reverse a structural economic slowdown."}],[{"start":36.25,"text":"But his approval rating tumbled below 40 per cent just weeks after taking office in March, when he declined to use fiscal resources to cushion a jump in fuel prices due to the Iran war. Prices at the pump soared as much as 60 per cent in Chile, which imports almost all its oil."}],[{"start":53.05,"text":"Kast was then forced into the earliest cabinet reshuffle since Chile’s return to democracy in 1990. He fired his security minister Trinidad Steinert after she botched a congressional presentation on crime, the government’s core issue, and then said she “didn’t expect to have to present a structured, concrete plan”. He also dismissed his spokesperson after multiple gaffes."}],[{"start":76.25,"text":"“I recognise that we haven’t always managed to explain certain decisions in a timely manner,” Kast said in his debut state of the nation address to congress on Monday."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":86.35,"text":"During the two-hour speech Kast appealed for Chileans’ patience and unveiled a series of hardline policy pledges. They included a plan to intervene in 50 neighbourhoods with high criminal activity and create a new “register of vandals” that deprives some people convicted of attacking police and public property of state pensions and free education.  "}],[{"start":106.89999999999999,"text":"“There is clearly an attempt to reset and move on from a difficult start,” said Patricio Navia, a Chilean political analyst. “The question now is can he actually start to deliver results?”"}],[{"start":118.74999999999999,"text":"Kast, an ally of US President Donald Trump, had spent much of the last decade calling for tougher action on crime and illegal immigration in Chile after splitting from the country’s centre right. The arrival of gangs from Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America has shaken one of the region’s safest countries, with the murder rate doubling since 2015."}],[{"start":140,"text":"While Kast’s government has touted an increase in police raids and drug seizures, voters have been dismayed by its slowness to differentiate its approach from the previous leftwing government. Two-thirds of respondents to a May poll by opinion researcher Cadem said the government had “no concrete plan” on security."}],[{"start":158.75,"text":"Kast stoked anger last month when he described another core campaign pledge to rapidly deport illegal migrants as “a metaphor”. His government has so far deported about 330 of the estimated 300,000 undocumented migrants in Chile, while some 1,600 have left voluntarily. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":176.9,"text":"“People have seen a rupture between his rhetoric and actions as a candidate and as president,” said María Cosette Godoy, director of political science at Santiago’s Diego Portales University. “He is realising how hard these pledges are.”"}],[{"start":192.3,"text":"While few had expected immediate improvements on security, “at least we should see some kind of organised action, and instead it has felt very improvised”, Godoy added, citing the rushed selection of Steinert, a prosecutor with no political experience."}],[{"start":207.95000000000002,"text":"Martín Arrau, the new security minister, a longtime politician and close ally of Kast, has attempted to change course, launching his tenure with a reshuffle of the ministry and laying out a legislative agenda during his presentation to the Senate on Tuesday.  "}],[{"start":223.4,"text":"Kast’s approval rating has climbed 3 points since Monday, to 41 per cent, according to pollster Cadem."}],[{"start":230.05,"text":"Yet Kast is also grappling with an unexpectedly gloomy economic outlook. The energy price shock has driven up inflation, while unemployment has reached 9.1 per cent, the highest level since 2021. "}],[{"start":243.25,"text":"The government’s promise of a sweeping fiscal adjustment to eliminate Chile’s fiscal deficit within four years also looks tougher to deliver after finance minister Jorge Quiroz accused the previous administration of lowballing shortfall projections. On Tuesday he asked Congress to approve $6.2bn in additional borrowing, on top of an already planned $17.4bn.  "}],[{"start":268.25,"text":"Higher fuel costs and weak mining output have dragged down economic activity. Itaú Bank last month revised down its 2026 GDP growth forecast from 2.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent, although it revised up the projection for 2027, in part due to high prices forecast for Chile’s copper exports."}],[{"start":289.7,"text":"“This is a story of deferred growth,” said Andrés Pérez, Itaú’s chief economist for Latin America. “It is still coming, but it will take a little longer than expected.”"}],[{"start":300.15,"text":"Kast’s solution to the lacklustre economy is a multipronged reform centred on lowering corporate taxes and offering fiscal stability for investors. The bill would increase the deficit in the near term, though he argues it will eventually boost revenues by unleashing growth and driving job creation."}],[{"start":318.34999999999997,"text":"Chile’s leftwing opposition have panned the proposals. Álvaro Elizalde, interior minister in the previous government, called them “1980s era ideas” designed to benefit “those with the most.” "}],[{"start":331.04999999999995,"text":"While the bill passed the lower house in May, it still faces tough negotiations in the Senate."}],[{"start":336.59999999999997,"text":"But the relatively moderate tone of Kast’s address on Monday, including appeals to work together with the opposition, may help him advance in the legislature, while his cabinet reshuffle appeared to have boosted the security agenda, said Eugenio Tironi, a sociologist and political consultant. "}],[{"start":354.4,"text":"“He’s got part of his momentum back,” he added. “The ship certainly hasn’t sunk, and it’s starting to stabilise.”"}],[{"start":366.75,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780645919_7920.mp3"}