There is no time to lose. When the victory celebrations are over, José Antonio Kast It must get to work immediately to respond to the diverse demands of a society that has chosen change in the elections and now expects concrete solutions to its main problems.
Starting this Monday, the future president must give clear signals that he will get to work, in the face of a society that is crying out to restore the peace and security that Chile had and that is now threatened by increasing violent crime. And that also requires better living conditions, decent work and salaries that make it possible to make ends meet.
“There are two major concerns in Chile. The first can be summarized as security/irregular immigration,” he explained Clarion Gonzalo Müller, Director of the Public Policy Center at the Universidad del Desarrollo. “This will be the issue on which the government will be quickly judged by citizens,” he added.
The other big issue at stake is the economylinked to the cost of living and employment. Unemployment today averages 8.4% (8.2% for men, 8.8% for women) and is one of the most frequently mentioned concerns here.
Revival of growth – which has stagnated at 2% annually since the 2019 social outbreak and the Covid pandemic, below the average of previous years -, investment projects and ensuring fair salaries are other issues on the agenda that the new government should address to win the trust of society.
Solve the serious things on a social level too health crisis, with citizens waiting months or even years on waiting lists for hospital treatment or unable to pay for their medications.
According to Müller, one of the characteristics of Chilean society is that it strives for immediacy: “Quick results are expected. According to various surveys, Chileans expect that there will be clear signs of change within three to six months. José Antonio Kast is clear about this, which is why he has already presented a plan for the first 90 days,” he said.
However, Kast himself made it clear this Sunday after the vote that no change was possible overnight. “The 90 days are very important, but not everything will be resolved,” he noted.
“There won’t be much patience. The message will be: ‘I voted for you because you promised me security measures, and I want you to do it now,'” explained Müller. “Citizens want to see results. When the first plane with deportees takes off on March 12th – the day after the handover of command – it is a sign that measures are being taken,” he explained by way of example.
At the economic level, the political analyst recalled that in the first months of Gabriel Boric’s government, major investment projects in the country were paralyzed. “If it soon becomes apparent that major investment projects are being reactivated, people will see that there are changes,” he said.
On the other hand, he emphasized, Kast had to take into account how he would put together his cabinet and what weight the other political spaces that supported him would have. Because, as they pointed out Clarion According to various political analysts in Chile, it is important to remember that Kast won partly with “borrowed” votes or with an “anti-Jara” vote.
What Kast should not lose sight of is that he received almost 24% of the total votes in the first round. That means three quarters of Chileans had chosen another option. And the future president must govern for the entire country.
“Therefore, the future president must include centrist figures in his cabinet, build a broader governing party and use the support of former Christian Democrat President Eduardo Frei to include center-left figures in the cabinet,” Müller said.
Traditionally, the elected Chilean president begins to decide on the names of his cabinet in January, and then society begins to see where the future government will go.
On the other hand, Kast has to face up a Congress with a significant degree of fragmentationalthough it will have a right-wing majority for the first time since the return of democracy. “And that will force Kast to negotiate,” noted political analyst Marco Moreno of the Central University of Chile.
After two failed attempts, Kast finally succeeded in becoming President of Chile. But the work has just begun and as they say here: “It’s different with a guitar.”
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