Heine on Chile’s Political Turn: A Historic Rightward Shift and Its Economic Stakes
In a featured Q&A titled What Will a New Right-Wing Gov’t Mean for Chile? in part of the Latin America Advisor, Jorge Heine, former Chilean cabinet minister and professor at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, characterizes José Antonio Kast’s decisive presidential victory as a historic turning point in Chilean politics. Kast won more than 58 percent of the vote—“the largest number in a presidential election in Chile’s history,” Heine notes—and became “the first pinochetista to win the presidency,” underscoring the scale of Chile’s rightward shift.
According to Heine, the election outcome was driven less by economic fundamentals than by political fatigue and institutional backlash. He argues that “Kast’s election is largely due to the left’s overreach in the 2021–2022 constitutional convention,” which produced a draft so polarizing that it was rejected by 62% of voters. As a result, the Boric government was politically weakened early on, despite strong macroeconomic indicators including record exports, robust foreign direct investment, and high copper prices. After years of social unrest, the pandemic, and repeated elections, Heine observes, “Chileans voted for the candidate who promised law and order and a return to normalcy.”
Looking ahead, Heine highlights both opportunity and uncertainty. Kast has pledged sweeping measures—including sharp spending cuts, corporate tax reductions, and mass deportations—but “how this will be implemented is still unclear,” particularly given congressional constraints. Still, Heine suggests that Chile’s strong economic position and Kast’s pro-business agenda are likely to have tangible effects, concluding that “we are likely to see an uptick in FDI and in local investment” under the new government.
The full article can be read here.
A former research professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Jorge Heine is a diplomat, international relations scholar, and lawyer. He is currently a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute. He has served as an ambassador of Chile to China, India, and South Africa. Heine has written over fifteen books, including The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition (2025), which provides insights on how the Global South can navigate the changing diplomatic landscape amid the U.S.-China rivalry.