The Rise of far-right leadership in Chile and Latin America : regional and global effects
The Rise of far-right leadership in Chile and Latin America : regional and global effects

Author(s): Simon Kaack, Leslie Wehner
Subject(s): International relations/trade
Published by: Ústav mezinárodních vztahů
Keywords: Foreign policy; Political leadership
Summary/Abstract: The election of José Antonio Kast as Chile’s president signals apossible alignment with a growing cluster of far-right governmentsin Latin America. This shift may reshape regional cooperation, testChile’s traditional commitment to multilateralism, and limit theautonomy of Latin American countries, considering the growingUS-China great power competition and the new US “DonroeDoctrine”. While Chile’s economic ties with Europe are likely toremain stable, political differences may arise over democracy andglobal governance. For the EU, the challenge will be to maintainpragmatic cooperation with Chile while supporting democraticinstitutions and sustaining regional dialogue.Latin American governments should promote regionaldialogue to address shared challenges such as organised crime,migration, climate change, and economic resilience. Monitoringof democratic backsliding should be strengthened throughexchanges of human rights institutions, electoral authorities, andcivil society. EU institutions and member states should maintainpragmatic cooperation with Chile on trade and security, whileseparating the democracy and human rights dialogue fromexecutive-level volatility. This can be achieved by deepeningengagement between parliamentarians, regional authorities, andacademic institutions, which would ensure a more resilient andmulti-layered partnership. Further, the EU should support Chileand other Latin American states in diversifying their relationsconsidering the US-China great power competition and theDonroe Doctrine.

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