José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chilean lawyer and politician. Kast ran for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

in 2021, winning the first round and losing in the second round run-off to

Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean left-wing politician who is the 37th and current president of Chile, serving since 11 March 2022. Boric studied in the Faculty of Law at the University of Chile, and was the president of ...

. Part of a prominent political family, his father Michael Kast was a lieutenant in the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and his brother Miguel Kast worked as the minister of State and president of the

Central Bank of Chile The Central Bank of Chile ( es, Banco Central de Chile) is the central bank of Chile. It was established in 1925 and is incorporated into the current Chilean Constitution as an autonomous institution of constitutional rank. Its monetary policy is ...

during the dictatorship of

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

. He served as a member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

from 2002 to 2018, representing District 24 of

Peñalolén Peñalolén (Mapudungun "fraternal meeting place") is a Chilean commune in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was founded on November 15, 1984. History The commune was founded on November 15, 1984. Drug arrests During 2019, Chi ...

and

La Reina La Reina (Spanish: "The Queen") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region created in 1963 from an eastern portion of the Ñuñoa commune. It belongs to the Northeastern zone of Santiago de Chile. La Reina ...

. Kast was a member of the

Independent Democratic Union The Independent Democratic Union (''Unión Demócrata Independiente'', UDI) is a conservative and right-wing political party in Chile, founded in 1983. Its founder was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a civilian allied with A ...

until 2016, becoming an

independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

until 2019 when he formed the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Chilean Republican Party and the

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

''Republican Ideas''. He previously ran for president as an independent candidate in the

2017 Chilean general election General elections were held in Chile on 19 November 2017, including presidential, parliamentary and regional elections. Voters went to the polls to elect: * A President of the Republic to serve a four-year term. * Twenty three of 43 members of ...

, and has been the leader of Republican Action () since 2018. Kast has been labelled as

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

, and supports law-and-order messaging and

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

economic policies, while opposing

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

, and

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

Early life

Kast's parents, Michael Kast Schindele and Olga Rist Hagspiel, were originally from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. His father had been a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

and a

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

member, who fled to Chile in December 1950 during the

denazification Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by remov ...

of Germany and settled in Buin, a commune within the Maipo Department in Santiago Province (current

Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...

). Kast's mother, along with two of his siblings, Michael (later Miguel) and Barbara, arrived in Chile in 1951. The family founded ''Cecinas Bavaria'', a sausage factory, in 1962, where the family made most of their fortune. In total, Kast's parents had 10 children, three of whom predeceased their parents. ''

The Intercept ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reported ...

'' noted that Michael Kast Schindele parented children "who shared his

far-right politics Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

". Kast's late brother Miguel was an economist and Chicago Boy who served under

as labor minister and president of the

, and Kast is also the uncle of

Political Evolution Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

senator

Felipe Kast Felipe José Kast Sommerhoff (born 9 June 1977) is a Chilean economist, researcher, consultant, and politician. Early life and family Kast is a nephew of far-right politician José Antonio Kast and son of the late economist Miguel Kast, who se ...

. Kast studied law at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

, where he came in contact with the ' (Guildist Movement). He was a candidate for the presidency of the university's student federation (FEUC). As a student, Kast appeared on the

1988 Chilean national plebiscite The 1988 Chilean national plebiscite was a national referendum held on 5 October 1988 to determine whether Chile's ''de facto'' leader, Augusto Pinochet, should extend his rule for another eight years through 1996. The "No" side won with nearly ...

electoral space, supporting the option to extend Pinochet's rule for eight more years. Kast founded a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

in 1990. He was also the director of a real estate company owned by his family in the 1990s.

Political career

Between 1996 and 2000, Kast was a councilman in Buin. In 2001, he was elected as a member of the

for District 30 of San Bernardo. He was the Secretary General of the Independent Democratic Union, a party from which he resigned in order to run for president. While in the Chamber of Deputies, Kast gained the support of the Bishop of San Bernardo

Juan Ignacio González Errázuriz Juan Ignacio González Errázuriz is the Roman Catholic bishop of San Bernardo, Chile. He is a member of the Prelature of Opus Dei Opus Dei, formally known as the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei ( la, Praelatura Sanctae Crucis et Ope ...

, with the bishop writing a four-page document instructing his congregation to support those against

emergency contraception Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of EC. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs), o ...

and

. The support from the bishop was instrumental with Kast establishing his political career, with Kast's advocacy against

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

playing an important role in developing his support.

2017 presidential campaign

On 18 August 2017, Kast officially registered his independent candidacy with the Electoral Service, presenting 43,461 signatures. He was supported by

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and

retired military A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

groups, among others. Kast promoted a "less taxes, less government,

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

" stance, as well as anti-

government programs. His support of the former

military government A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

led to much controversy during his campaign, especially his proposal to forgive convicts over 80 years old who have age-related illnesses, including those who were convicted of human rights violations under Pinochet's government. He received 523,213 votes in the 2017 presidential election, representing 7.93% of the total votes and landing in the fourth place, although opinion polls only showed a 2% to 3% support for him. In the second round of the election, he supported

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

, who won the election. He remarked that " n today's world,Chileans need God", and said that the state should promote religion in schools by having available teachers for this subject when students choose to have them.

2018–2021

In terms of international relations, Kast proposed closing the border with

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, arguing this measure would allow for a more effective fight against drug trafficking. In 2018, he called on the government to sever diplomatic relations with France in retaliation for the asylum granted to former guerrilla Ricardo Palma Salamanca. In March 2018, during a tour of Chilean universities, Kast was scheduled to give a talk at the

Arturo Prat University Universidad Arturo Prat is a university in Chile. It is a derivative university part of the Chilean Traditional Universities. The university was created in 1981 from the former campus of the University of Chile in Iquique. It also has campuses i ...

Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191,468 ...

, but was physically assaulted by protesters opposed to his political views. Kast also claimed censorship by the

University of Concepción A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and the

Austral University of Chile Austral University of Chile ( es, Universidad Austral de Chile or UACh) is a Chilean research university based primarily in Valdivia, with a satellite campus in Puerto Montt. Founded on September 7, 1954, it is one of the eight original Chilean Tr ...

. In the

2018 Brazilian general election General elections were held in Brazil on 7 October 2018 to elect the president, National Congress and state governors. As no candidate in the presidential election received more than 50% of the vote in the first round, a runoff round was held ...

, Kast supported

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...

. In April 2018, Kast launched the right-wing political movement called Republican Action. In September 2019, Kast was accused of failing to declare money transferred to companies in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. Kast recognized the existence of these companies but denied that he owned them, saying they were owned by his brother, Christian Kast. He then defended the right of Chilean people to invest abroad. In May 2019, he created the

''Republican Ideas'' and in June 2019 he created the Chilean Republican Party. He opposed the demonstrations that took place during the

2019 Chilean protests Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, saying that they were not part of a social movement but were instead acts of violence organized by

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. As approval for the protests decreased, Kast was able to establish support of Chileans who opposed the violence observed during the protests. During the

2020 Chilean national plebiscite The 2020 Chilean national plebiscite was held in Chile on 25 October 2020. The referendum asked whether a new constitution should be drafted, and whether it should be drafted by a constitutional convention, made up by members elected directly f ...

regarding changing the

Constitution of Chile The Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile of 1980 () is the fundamental law in force in Chile. It was approved and promulgated under the military dictatorship headed by Augusto Pinochet, being ratified by the Chilean citizenry through ...

, he was one of the main supporters and campaigners for rejecting the option, which received 21.72% of the vote; the constitutional change was approved by 78.28% of the vote. In the

2021 Chilean Constitutional Convention election An election for the members of the Constitutional Convention was held in Chile between 15 and 16 May 2021. This election was called after 78% of voters in the 2020 national plebiscite voted to write a new Constitution through this method. Aft ...

, Kast made a political pact with the center-right coalition to form a joint list of candidates for the election called . The list obtained 20.6% of the vote, representing less than one-third of the Constitutional Convention. Kast proposed one of the main candidates of the pact, Teresa Marinovic, whose political views aligned with Kast's but was not well received by parts of the center-right. However, Marinovic won with a high percentage of votes and, thanks to the

D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...

, many other candidates were able to enter the Constitutional Convention with her triumph.

2021 presidential campaign

Punto de prensa José Antonio Kast 30 08 2021

In 2018, Kast confirmed his intentions of running for president in the

2021 Chilean general election General elections were held in Chile on 21 November 2021, including presidential, parliamentary and regional elections. Voters went to the polls to elect the President of the Republic to serve a four-year term, 27 of 50 members of the Senate t ...

. In this election, he ran under his own Republican Party along with candidates for the Chamber of Deputies and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, unlike in his previous presidential candidacy in 2017, in which he ran as an independent. Kast formed the

Christian Social Front The Christian Social Front ( es, Frente Social Cristiano, FSC) was a Chilean far-right electoral coalition formally created on August 6, 2021 between the Republican Party and the Christian Conservative Party for the 2021 general elections. Hist ...

, a political pact to present a list of candidates from the Republican Party and the

Christian Conservative Party The Christian Conservative Party ( no, Kristent Konservativt Parti, KKP) was a political party in Norway which was originally formed in 1965 as the Democratic Party of Norway. The party was later also known as the Christian Democrats and the Peace ...

. Kast has held campaign proposals that have been controversial. He supports the

pardoning A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

of former Pinochet officials of "advanced age", which would generally include all officials imprisoned. He also proposed banning abortion, fusing the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality, remove Chile from the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

and building more prisons. During his campaigning, Kast used the slogan "make Chile a great country", which was compared to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

Make America Great Again "Make America Great Again" or MAGA is an American political slogan popularized by Donald Trump in his successful 2016 presidential campaign. The slogan became a pop culture phenomenon, seeing widespread use and spawning numerous variants in ...

slogan, with some supporters wearing Make America Great Again apparel at his events. Kast did not participate in the

presidential primary The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various U.S. state, states, the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States preside ...

, which was won by

Sebastián Sichel Sebastián Iglesias Sichel Ramírez (born 30 July 1977) is a Chilean lawyer, professor, ex minister of State and politician who served as president of the () from June 2020 until December 2020. He also previously served as Minister of Social ...

. Sichel was considered as the main right-wing candidate in the polls at the beginning of the election. However, after the first debate on television, Kast started to surpass Sichel and became the top candidate on the right. He received the most votes in the first round of the election, nearly 28% of total votes cast, and he qualified for the run-off against

. Following his success in the first round, Kast garnered the support of most of Chile's right-wing groups, including President

. Internationally, Kast has found solidarity with other right-wing figures, signing the ''

Madrid Charter The ''Madrid Charter: In Defense of Freedom and Democracy in the Iberosphere'' ( Spanish: ''Carta de Madrid: en defensa de la libertad y la democracia en la Iberosfera''), also known as the ''Letter from Madrid'', was a manifesto created on 26 O ...

'' – a document condemning left-wing groups in

Ibero-America Ibero-America ( es, Iberoamérica, pt, Ibero-América) or Iberian America is a region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese are predominant languages (usually form ...

authored by the far-right Vox party of Spain – beside other international signatories;

Rafael López Aliaga Rafael Bernardo López Aliaga Cazorla (born 11 February 1961) is a Peruvian businessman and politician, who is serving as mayor of Lima since 2023. He is currently the leader of Popular Renewal Entering politics late in his career, López Alia ...

of Peru,

Javier Milei Javier Gerardo Milei (born 22 October 1970) is an Argentine politician, businessman and economist currently serving as a federal deputy of Buenos Aires. Milei became widely known for his regular television appearances where he has been critical ...

of Argentina and

Eduardo Bolsonaro Eduardo Nantes Bolsonaro (born 10 July 1984) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and federal police officer. He is the third child of Jair Bolsonaro, the 38th President of Brazil. Career He has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies since 20 ...

of Brazil, the son of President

. On 30 November 2021, Kast began to make international connections during his campaign, meeting in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, with

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

, the Chilean ambassador to the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

and at least twenty American business executives invested in Chile, including María Paulina Uribe of

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

. On 19 December 2021, Kast conceded defeat after losing to Boric in the run-off and promised "constructive collaboration".

Political positions

Kast has been described as a

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

, which he denies, and is a supporter of former

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

. He has called for a "firm hand" to govern Chile. Kast is a

, and supports

law and order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

and

economic policies, saying the 2021 election was a choice "between freedom and communism – between democracy and communism". Kast has expressed

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establi ...

positions, and he opposes

, and

in Chile, supporting social benefits only for women who are married. Concerning heritage and culture, Kast claims to "defend Chile's European heritage and national unity against the left's espousal of indigenous groups and multiculturalism." Kast rejects the overwhelming scientific consensus on

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, downplaying its dangers and denying mankind's contribution to it. His public speaking mannerisms and conservatism have been compared to Brazilian president

. Kast's support for a ditch along the Chile-Bolivia border to reduce illegal immigration has been compared to former U.S president

's support for a

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

along the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

Personal life

Kast is married to María Pía Adriasola; the couple has nine children. He is a practising

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a member of the

Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement The Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt (german: Schönstatt-Bewegung) is a Catholic Marian movement founded in Germany in 1914 by Fr Joseph Kentenich, who saw the movement as a means of spiritual renewal for the Catholic Church. The movement i ...

References

External links

Personal website
(in Spanish)
Biography by CIDOB
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kast, José Antonio 1966 births 20th-century Chilean lawyers 21st-century Chilean lawyers 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Anti-Marxism Candidates for President of Chile Antisemitism in Chile Chilean anti-communists Chilean anti-same-sex-marriage activists Chilean city councillors Chilean people of Austrian descent Chilean people of German descent Chilean Roman Catholics Conservatism in Chile Far-right politics in Chile Independent Democratic Union politicians José Antonio Living people Members of Catholic organizations Politicians from Santiago Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni Republican Party (Chile, 2019) politicians Right-wing populists Right-wing populism in South America Chilean anti-abortion activists Deputies of the LI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the LII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the LIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the LIV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile