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José Antonio Kast has twice sought the Presidency of Chile, which has made him one of the most relevant figures for conservatism in Latin America. He describes himself as a “politically incorrect” man and therefore has no qualms when talking about politics in the region and confronting the left in his narrative.
During a breakfast organized by Fundación Disenso, in Madrid, and attended by El American, Kast referred to the challenges faced by those who promoted the ideas of freedom in Latin America and insisted on the need for right-wing leaders to serve as a reference to confront the left in the continent. He has no doubt that “it is possible to put an end to Marxism.”
To achieve this, he indicated that it is necessary to have leadership in the White House that looks at the region in a different way. He said that many times, without realizing it, Washington promotes groups in the region that go against American interests. “It is essential that the United States has a different look towards South America than the one it has had so far,” he said.
He also explained that it is important that classical liberals and conservatives in Latin America understand that they have a common enemy: communism. For this reason, he believes there must be basic agreements, such as the freedom of citizens, to defeat socialism. He is confident that “this consensus can be built.”
He pointed out two reasons for the rise of the left in Latin America. The first is that there have been inconveniences among the Hispanic right to promote the correct policies; the second is that the left, led by the São Paulo Forum, sells a fantasy to the citizens and promotes slavery through dependence on the State.
“Permanent welfare is slavery. The citizen’s dependence on authority makes him a slave. But I believe that the right has been regaining ground,” he says.
However, he emphasized that the diagnosis of the triumph of socialism differs in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, which he describes as the “axis of evil.” He emphasized that these are dictatorships in which there is no possibility for the opposition to come to power, “the export of socialism in Cuba has reached the region. But people in Cuba are tired of the regime,” he said.
He added that “no one can say that there is democracy in Venezuela. There it will not be respected if the opposition is elected because elections are not respected. There is no possibility of winning elections.”
José Antonio Kast on Maduro and the Brazilian elections
Kast mentioned that, in his opinion, there were irregularities in the Brazilian elections and thus spoke about the importance of promoting the necessary policies for institutions to guarantee transparency in democracy.
Finally, he regretted that the international community, particularly countries such as France, want to whitewash the image of Nicolás Maduro’s regime, and stressed that their intentions must be denounced: “They are trying to reinstall Maduro as an authority and we have to denounce that.”
Williams Perdomo es periodista y escritor, especializado en las fuentes Política y Cultura.