Activists in Chile are bracing themselves for the incoming four-year rule of far-right president José Antonio Kast, warning of rollbacks to hard-won rights as he pledges to fight crime and illegal immigration, and cut public spending by $6 billion.
‘We will not sit idly by; we will remain vigilant, documenting, denouncing and mobilizing citizens for the unrestricted defence of human rights,’ said Rodrigo Bustos Bottai, director of Amnesty International Chile, following Kast’s election victory in December.
Among chief concerns is Kast’s support for Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet and the possibility that he will release some of the 139 prisoners serving sentences for crimes against humanity committed during the 1973-1990 dictatorship.
Rights groups also question how far Kast will support the National Search Plan for victims of forced disappearance under Pinochet’s regime, an initiative launched by outgoing left-wing president Gabriel Boric.
Indigenous rights are also at risk, particularly if Kast acts on plans to repeal laws protecting Mapuche communities, or dismantles the state agency responsible for ancestral land restitution.
Environmental defenders face similar uncertainty. The unresolved disappearance of Mapuche forest defender Julia Chuñil, which sparked nationwide protests last year, is likely to fuel further demonstrations.
Feminist groups, meanwhile, are preparing to resist any attempts by the staunchly Catholic Kast to roll back recent loosening of abortion restrictions. ‘The far right’s political project rests on the denial of equality and substantive rights,’ said Nicole Herrera Farfá, a member of the Chilean Network against Violence against Women.
Kast’s admiration for US president Donald Trump is reflected in his plans to build a wall along the border with Peru. Over 100 organizations urged Boric before Kast’s inauguration in March 2026 to fast-track emergency measures to regularize migrants’ status.
