Chilean candidate José Antonio Kast unveils plan to cut public jobs and fight government cronyism: Video
Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Kast has unveiled a plan to reform the public sector and tackle cronyism, accusing the state of failing to deliver basic services efficiently.
Speaking at a press conference in Santiago on Monday, October 13, the right-wing politician said the government had become bloated and unresponsive to citizens’ needs.
“Today, the state does not properly fulfil the function that citizens expect,” Kast said, criticising the steady increase in public employees without a corresponding improvement in services. He argued that “plans and programmes expand, but that does not always match the quality of the service people receive.”
Kast, who represents the Republican Party and is seeking the presidency for the second time after losing to Gabriel Boric in 2021, proposed creating a unified registry of public servants to identify individuals “in positions they shouldn’t occupy.” He said that if elected, he would reduce the state workforce, which he described as “inflated” at around 1.2 million employees.
The 59-year-old candidate trails Communist Party contender Jeannette Jara in recent polls but is betting on a campaign focused on government accountability and fiscal discipline. His new plan aims to curb what he calls a culture of political patronage in Chile’s bureaucracy, a long-standing criticism across party lines.
Chile’s presidential elections will take place on 16 November. If no candidate secures more than 50 per cent of the vote, a runoff is scheduled for 14 December. As campaigning intensifies, Kast’s message of efficiency and anti-corruption is positioning him as the leading voice of the conservative opposition.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
