SANTIAGO — José Antonio Kast took office as president of Chile on March 11, 2026. The conservative politician won 58% of the vote in the election.

Kast narrowly lost the 2021 Chilean presidential election to Gabriel Boric. During his 2021 campaign, he opposed abortion and same-sex marriage. In 2009, he opposed the sale of emergency contraceptive pills.

The 60-year-old former lawmaker is a practicing Catholic and member of the Schoenstatt movement. He has nine children and has defended Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. During the 2025 presidential campaign, he centered his platform on security.

One of Kast's first measures as president was to implement a 3% budget cut. Chile's new ministers for Women and for Health are openly religious.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Kast's election victory. Kast and his wife are members of the Schoenstatt movement.

"Across the region, we have seen that when leaders from the political wing to which Kast belongs take office, one of the first things that happens is a rollback of individual rights and women's rights," said Catalina Calderón, chief advocacy officer at the Women's Equality Center. "But how that vision could shape the administration is something that should be watched closely," Calderón said.