Chile's Conservative President Kast Faces Mounting Pressure After Eight Months

Rising Discontent in Santiago

Chile’s ultraconservative president José Antonio Kast is in trouble. Just eight months into his term, his approval rating has cratered to a mere 24%. This dramatic fall from grace reveals a familiar pattern unfolding across Latin America: far-right politicians who rode waves of anti-immigration and law-and-order rhetoric into power are discovering that campaign promises don’t pay for groceries.

Kast swept to the presidency in December 2025 by carefully sidestepping his long history of hardline stances on social issues. Instead, he hammered two themes that dominated Chilean media: illegal immigration and public security. It was a calculated strategy that worked. But once in office, he’s been unable to deliver on the concerns that actually matter to ordinary Chileans.

On the streets of Santiago, the frustration is palpable and visceral. “Our salaries are maybe 20% of a European income, but with a similar cost of living, it’s terrible,” said 30-year-old architect Simón Echavarría at a recent march. He captures the economic bind that no amount of security theater can fix.

Controversial Decisions and Economic Mismanagement

The government’s recent decisions have been nothing short of tone-deaf. In July, Kast’s administration refused to deploy an available anti-inflation tool to cushion rising fuel prices triggered by the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Overnight, prices skyrocketed. The public response was swift and angry.

Then came the scandal that really ignited the powder keg. Last month, it was revealed that Kast’s government had quietly signed decrees reducing sentences for 56 prisoners, including those convicted of raping children and committing dictatorship-era human rights violations. Kast later called it an “error” but doubled down by supporting the undersecretary who authorized the decrees. This wasn’t just a policy blunder; it felt like a betrayal of basic human decency.

Protester Patricia Pereira, a 30-year-old veterinarian, expressed concerns that extend beyond fuel costs. “Here in Chile, it was a hard-won victory for children to have free education, achieved through protests, and now even that’s also being called into question,” she said. Those free education programs are now on the chopping block, along with funding for culture, science, and other social programs.

The Trucker’s Victory and What Comes Next

This week, Chile’s formidable truckers’ unions blockaded two major highways in a show of force. They won. On Friday, after the strike broke their deadlock, the government capitulated and sent a bill to Congress to reverse planned fuel price increases. It’s expected to pass this month, but the damage is already done.

What’s particularly striking is that Kast isn’t alone in this predicament. Across the Americas, far-right leaders who aligned themselves with Donald Trump are facing similar backlash. In Argentina, libertarian firebrand Javier Milei has 60% disapproval ratings amid rampant inflation. In Peru, President Keiko Fujimori watches 53% of the country disapprove of her leadership according to recent polling.

These leaders came to power by exploiting fears and resentment, but they’ve discovered that populism and polarization don’t create jobs or lower prices. Economic anxiety doesn’t care about your political ideology. When people can’t afford to feed their families or heat their homes, they take to the streets. Protests are likely to intensify in Santiago if the government continues down its current path.

Kast’s budget proposal currently winding through Congress only promises more pain. Education cuts, science funding slashed, social programs dismantled. The very policies that animated his campaign victory have given way to an ideological agenda that nobody asked for and increasingly fewer people support.

The question now is whether Kast can course-correct before his presidency becomes completely unraveled. The evidence suggests he won’t: he’s shown little willingness to address the cost of living crisis that’s grinding ordinary Chileans into the ground. When a president’s own party created the problem and refuses to fix it, what’s left but the streets?

Source: NPR