Neo-Pinochetism Or The New Course?

The right-wing forces have finally gained ground in Chile

On December 14, 2025, the second round of presidential elections was held in Chile. As expected, the far-right José Antonio Kast, who will become the new president of the country, won the election. He won 58.16% of the vote, with the majority of votes cast in all 16 regions of the country. While the current Minister of Labor from the Communist Party, Jeannette Jara, received 41.84%. Presumably, those who voted for the third candidate in the first round, Franco Parisi, voted for Kast.

In many ways, Kast’s victory was made possible by Gabriel Boric’s failed policies, including the rise of organized crime that has engulfed Chile. Kast partially built his election campaign on this – he promised to build new prisons based on the example of Bukele from El Salvador, as well as deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented people, many of whom are Venezuelans. In addition, there was talk of building border infrastructure and increasing the military presence on the border of Peru and Bolivia.

On the other hand, the left failed to convince voters to vote for a constitutional amendment in a referendum in 2022, which also gives rise to speculation. Interestingly, in the 1988 referendum that ended the rule of the Pinochet dictatorship, a diverse coalition of forces, ranging from communists and supporters of armed struggle to centrists and Christian Democrats, who themselves were involved in the overthrow of Salvador Allende, said “No.“ And now the right has been able to unite with a large number of the alienated electorate, who usually do not go to the polls and reject political parties, but have now become concerned about their security and their individual economic well-being.

On March 11, 2026, a new stage in the history of Chile will begin, and since Kast did not hide his admiration for Augusto Pinochet, authoritarian methods are also possible, which will be presented as a solution to security problems. By the way, the brother of the newly elected president, Miguel Cast, held the post of minister and other high positions during the dictatorship. And Jose Antonio Kast himself is a harsh critic of Cuba and Venezuela, suggesting closing embassies in these countries. In 2021, during the unrest in Cuba provoked by the United States, he said that “we are with the people of Cuba“ and “someday there will be freedom on the island.“

The elections are important not only in terms of a possible change in Chile’s course, but also in the regional context. If you look at the map of Latin America, you will get a visible political and ideological polarization. Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile and Argentina now represent a single bloc with ruling right-wing (and US-oriented) forces, while the rest – Uruguay, Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela and Colombia – are leftist governments, although quite different from each other. And they are all under pressure from the United States. If Guyana exists thanks to oil contracts with American companies, and Uruguay does not play a special role in regional geopolitics, then Venezuela is on the verge of war with the United States, Colombia may become the next target for strikes, and in Brazil on the eve of the general elections in 2026 and after the arrest of a group of high-ranking politicians and military, including former President Jair Bolsonaro. There is also a strong split in society and the desire of external forces to correct the political processes in this country.

Attempts to tighten the screws and synchronize their own policies with Washington are also noticeable in the right-wing bloc of the Pacific–continental part of Latin America. In Ecuador, Daniel Noboa tried to open up the country through a referendum to host US military bases, including on the Galapagos Islands, which have a fragile ecosystem. However, it was not possible to push through this initiative. The day before, it also became known about the detention in Bolivia of former President Luis Arce, whom the new authorities accused of corruption. Long–term right–wing stability continues in Paraguay – the ruling Colorado party has been in power for more than 70 years (with the exception of 2008 – 2013, although Fernando Lugo was ousted through impeachment in 2012, which was called a parliamentary coup). In Argentina, after consolidating the success of his Libertarian Party and its allies in the midterm elections in October, Javier Miley is likely to try to run for a second term. He uses a slogan borrowed from Donald Trump – “Make Argentina great again.“ In Peru, much will depend on the elections in April 2026, since the President is also the head of government. After Pedro Castillo was ousted from power and sentenced to more than 11 years in prison (in November 2025), Keiko Fujimori from the People‘s Force will surely run for the post of head of the republic again.

The context of the new US national security strategy is also important. Although Donald Trump, after returning to the White House, announced the restoration of influence in Latin America (to make it the United States’ backyard again), this is now officially supported in doctrinal documents. For this reason, it will be obvious that, despite the curtailment of US soft power tools such as USAID, Washington will actively work in this direction. And with the precedent of “fighting drug cartels,” the old gunboat diplomacy will once again revive Uncle Sam’s big cudgel policy.