The Republican Party (; PLR) is a right-wing populist and

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

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Its founder and former leader is Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Kast.

History

Background

José Antonio Kast, the founder of the party, was a deputy for 16 years, and a member of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) for 20 years. In 2017 he ran for president, finishing in fourth place with nearly 8% of the vote. Kast became disillusioned with UDI and resigned in protest, believing that the party criticized former Chilean dictator

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

too often. With the base of support he obtained with the election, he decided to found a political movement.

Foundation

The Republican Party began as the Chilean manifestation of the conservative wave in Latin America. On 3 March 2018, Kast held the first meeting of (what at that time was) the new movement. Some time after, on 9 April, the movement was presented at the Omnium Hall in Las Condes, and it was named "Acción Republicana" (''Republican Action''). On 10 June 2019, Kast presented the party to the Servel, the party formation is still ongoing. More than half of the directive is composed of ex members of the UDI. One of them is the only deputy the party has in 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 Bourb ...

, Ignacio Urrutia. On 21 January 2020, the Servel legally constituted the party in the regions of O'Higgins, Maule and Ñuble, after the necessary number of signatures was presented. On 14 August 2020, the party was officially constituted in the regions of Biobío and Araucanía, at the same time violent incidents related with the Mapuche conflict were taking place in the zone. On 9 September, the party was constituted in Santiago Metropolitan Region, and it was announced that it would present candidates to the municipal elections. On 19 July 2021, the party was constituted in the regions of Arica and Parinacota, Atacama, Aysén and Magallanes, making it a national-level party, constituted in all Chilean regions.

2023 events

2023 saw the party win a landslide victory in the Constitutional Council election of May. In early December 26 members including senator Rojo Edwards renounced the party.

2024 events

In January 2024 Deputy Johannes Kaiser renounced after being sanctioned being removed from legislative committees for making explicit that he voted "Against" the Constitutional Proposal of 2023, supported by the party directive. He emphasizes that he wasn't going to participate in any campaign for his option for respect for the party, something which he accomplished. He founded the National Libertarian Party in July of the same year, having the signatures required in 2025 to officially create the new political party.

Ideology

The Republican Party has been described as being far-right, authoritarian,

, nativist,

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

, right-wing populist and right-wing antiglobalist. Political scientist Cristóbal Rovira categorizes the party as belonging to a populist radical right, rather than far-right which is academically an incorrect label for the party.Cristóbal Rovira: "El Partido Republicano no es de extrema derecha; es derecha populista radical"
Revista Pauta. October 31, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021. According to Political scientist Mireya Dávila the party contain some positions typical of the far-right, but notes also that far-right groups have also found expression in the older right-wing parties National Renewal and Independent Democratic Union. The party's ideological doctrine is similar to the previously existing Gremialismo and is the main group of " organic Pinochetism", the new far-right in Chile, with the party receiving more support as

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

and center-right parties began to reach a point of political convergence in the area policies and a perceived collusion in corruption as scandals arose. According to Cox and Blanco, the Republican Party appeared in Chilean politics in a similar manner to Spain's Vox party, with both parties splitting off from an existing right-wing party to collect disillusioned voters. The Republican Party calls for measures to reduce illegal immigration, including building a ditch along the border with

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. The party describes recent popular protests in Chile as ideological

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

and frames indigenous movements as narcoterrorism. Regarding economic policy, the Republican Party supports

neoliberalism Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...

and a

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...

, including cutting

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

es. The Republican Party holds socially conservative views of a heteropatriarchal society and attaches itself to a traditional Western Christian point of view, supporting a heterosexual

nuclear family A nuclear family (also known as an elementary family, atomic family, or conjugal family) is a term for a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single ...

while opposing

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

and

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

. Members of the party have also expressed anti-feminist attitudes. Kast has been recognized as the main leader of the Chilean extreme right for several years, consistently advocating neoliberal economics, anti-immigration policies and opposition to abortion and gay marriage.

Presidential candidates

The following is a list of the presidential candidates supported by the Republican Party (information gathered from th
Archive of Chilean Elections
: * 2021 – José Antonio Kast (lost)

Electoral history

Presidential election

Congress election

Municipal elections

Regional elections

References

External links

Official web site
{{Chilean political parties Nationalist parties in Chile Right-wing populism in South America Right-wing populist parties Conservative parties in Chile Political parties established in 2019 2019 establishments in Chile Opposition to same-sex marriage in South America Right-wing parties in South America Right-wing politics in Chile National conservative parties Social conservative parties Far-right political parties in Chile Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in South America Anti-communist parties