Last month, conservative Jose Kast defeated communist Jeannette Jara to become the next president of Chile. While Kast is a social conservative, he ran on a platform centered around illegal immigration and crime, two of the issues voters were most concerned about. In addition, Kast promises deregulation, tax cuts, and expansion of mining in the country.
The election of Kast provides an opportunity for President Trump to further his own agenda. For one thing, Kast’s focus on crime and immigration is shared with Donald Trump. Closer cooperation between US law enforcement and Chilean authorities can work to counter cartel operations in Chile, therefore preventing drugs and illegal immigration from reaching the US. In addition, Kast and Chile can help counter Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro. If the US military is going to step up operations against Maduro, it would benefit from as many allies as possible.
The benefits to the US of a Kast victory go beyond security. One of the priorities of the incoming Kast administration is mining. Chile is already one of the world’s leading producers of copper and lithium, and it is working to expand its mining of other rare earth metals. The global economy depends on these metals in the production of everything from cellphones to military technology. China is the world leader in mining and processing of these metals. China is one of the United States’ chief adversaries, so the US cannot rely on China to supply it with these critical minerals. Therefore, mining deals with alternative sources are vital.
Elsewhere in Latin America, Honduras elected Trump-endorsed conservative Nasry Asfura, who won a closely contested election to become president. Like in Chile, Asfura replaces a deeply unpopular socialist government. To illustrate the unpopularity of the incumbent LIBRE party, their candidate finished a distant third with a mere 19% of the vote. The candidate Asfura defeated is from another right-wing party.
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