Chile has elected extreme-right candidate José Antonio Kast as its new president. His victory, argues Anitta Kynsilehto, may reflect a broader process of rewriting political memory in the post-dictatorship era, suggesting that Chileans' memories of 'never again' moments are beginning to fade

On 11 March 2026, José Antonio Kast took office as the new president of Chile. Victory for Kast saw Chile joining the ongoing right-wing populist wave in other Latin American countries, including Argentina. Chile's late-2025 democratic elections were the first since the end of Augusto Pinochet’s civil-military dictatorship in 1990 to result in victory for an extreme-right candidate. Since its transition to democracy, the country has alternated between centre-right and centre-left-wing rule. But victory for Kast may signal a more radical change – and could even reshape the country’s post-dictatorship political memory.

The uprising in 2019 created only temporary turbulence in Chile's political system. President Kast may now seek to reshape the country’s post-dictatorship political memory

In 2019, the Chilean uprising (estallido social) shook the country. Its echoes resonated elsewhere across the region, and globally. Following the uprising, Chile instigated two failed attempts to rewrite its outdated dictatorship-era Constitution. Yet despite the significance of the uprising for those who participated and analysed it, the estallido social succeeded in creating only temporary turbulence in Chile’s political system. It did, however, mobilise segments of the population unafraid to make their voices heard once more.

'We don't want Chile to become Cuba or Venezuela'

In the 2025 presidential elections, communist party member Jeanette Jara ran as the candidate of the unified left. Her communist affiliation alienated some prospective voters, even if they did not align outright with Kast's extreme-right ideology. Many cited the need to avoid Chile ending up like Cuba or Venezuela as a common reason for not supporting Jara.

Unified-left candidate Jeanette Jara lost out on votes because of her communist party affiliation. Many voters wanted to avoid Chile ending up like Cuba or Venezuela

A significant proportion of Chile's Venezuelan diaspora are middle- and upper middle-class residents invited by Chilean president Sebastian Piñera (2010–2014 and 2018–2022) to escape Venezuela's revolutionary leftist regime. In the recent elections, diaspora members were vocal advocates for right-wing candidates. They strongly endorsed Kast's pledge that he would not let Chile 'become like Venezuela'.

Most of these people, however, have not gained Chilean citizenship and were thus not entitled to vote. Chile's migrant population is diverse, and holds diverse political opinions. However, the Venezuelan migrants' support for right-wing ideology jarred with other South American and Caribbean migrants’ calls for improvements in migrant rights.

Border security and migration: the first targets

Kast's campaign capitalised on pressing voter concerns that were amplified by media coverage. Most important of these were transnational organised crime and undocumented migration. On assuming the presidency, Kast got to grips with these issues immediately.

Citing security and economic troubles, Kast established an 'emergency government' to tackle the crisis. Three of the six emergency rulings he signed on his first day in office addressed migration and border security. As we have seen in the US over recent months, far-right populists often hound migrants they assume lack the required documents. And spectacular border enforcement, such as Trump's wall, are also typical of populist leaders who want to be seen to be ‘doing something’.

Reinterpreting the memory of dictatorship

Alongside these measures, something more fundamental may be taking place: the rewriting of Chile's political memory. The new government is trying to reinterpret the significance of Pinochet's 1973–1990 civil-military dictatorship, and the country's subsequent transition to democracy.

Kast is considering freeing elderly former high-ranking officials imprisoned for torture. For survivors, their family members and families of the disappeared, this is unacceptable. Social movements are taking the streets again to revive protest activity. One such was the International Women’s Day demonstration that gathered over half a million marchers in Santiago a few days before Kast took office. Another was a protest by antifascist groups during the ceremony on 11 March. This is not about undermining the results of democratic elections. Rather, it is a reminder that political participation does not end once the ballots are cast.

As Kast considers freeing elderly former high-ranking officials imprisoned for torture, social movements are taking the streets again to revive protest activity

Critics of the government fear that the 'never again' message is fading. Many are therefore undertaking important work to preserve memories of Chile's painful history.

Sustaining painful political memory

Institutions such as the Museum of Memory and Human Rights and emblematic sites such as the National Stadium, Villa Grimaldi and 3 y 4 Alamos commemorate Chile's torture victims. In the days and weeks after the military coup on 11 September 1973, those arrested were detained at the National Stadium. Villa Grimaldi, formerly Terranova Barracks, was from 1975–1978 one of the regime's most notorious torture sites. 3 y 4 Alamos was a transit centre for people arrested across the Santiago Metropolitan Region and elsewhere. It also contained a detention and torture unit operated by the National Intelligence Directory. These sites, and many like them, keep alive the memory of individual and collective suffering under dictatorship.

Careful documentation and place-based work are crucial for sustaining painful political memory. Austerity measures now mean that the publicly funded foundations that run the sites and organisations that do so fear funding cuts. Forcing out these institutions would constitute the deliberate erasure of collective memory.

Attempts to erase these memories raises fears that Chileans may once more be prepared to accept the unacceptable.