Chiles New President Praised Dictator Augusto Pinochet in Recent Statement

Chile’s Newly Inaugurated President Reflects on Past Regime

Jose Antonio Kast, Chile’s newly inaugurated president, unveiled his official portrait two weeks prior to his inauguration. The image featured Kast wearing a blue suit, the presidential sash, and a coat of arms stitched in the middle. This was notable as no president since Augusto Pinochet’s overthrow in 1990 had posed with the coat of arms on their sash.

Kast has been open about his affinity for Pinochet, who seized power in a 1973 military coup. The coup resulted in the death of over 3,000 people and the imprisonment of thousands more. Kast was a young man at the time and participated in a youth campaign to support Pinochet’s rule.

Analysts are questioning whether Kast’s views on Pinochet reflect nostalgia for past dictatorships or frustration with the current status quo. Maria Fernanda Garcia, director of Chile’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights, notes that there is a global trend towards more hardline policies. She attributes this to a “crisis of democracy” that has led to a reevaluation of past conflicts and dictatorships.

Garcia also observes that young people are particularly susceptible to reactionary narratives on social media, which often glorify the established order rather than challenging it. Kast won the recent presidential election with the largest vote tally in Chilean history, earning over 58% of the vote.

Kast’s cabinet has been announced, including two former lawyers for Pinochet, who will serve as minister of defence and minister of justice and human rights. The legacy of Chile’s coup remains a divisive subject, with some polls suggesting that more than a third of Chileans believe the 1973 coup was justified.

Experts warn that it is difficult to determine how many Chileans currently support Pinochet’s platform. Kast’s views on Pinochet have been part of his personal brand for most of his political career, and his economic policies and approach to issues like crime and women’s rights are seen as influenced by the dictatorship.

Source: Al Jazeera