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Original article: José Kast y Javier Milei: más que amigos

When Javier Milei emerged as the most-voted candidate in the primary elections held in August 2023, the current candidate of the Republican Party, José Antonio Kast, was quick to congratulate him.

«Historic victory for Milei in the primaries. From Chile, all the support for the tough fight ahead. For the good of Argentina, may the force of freedom prevail and may corruption, insecurity, and mediocrity be defeated,» wrote Kast on his social media account.

More than just a courteous compliment, Kast’s congratulations came from a fellow traveler in the Latin American right, who had already met on two occasions and regularly organized events to chart the conservative agenda in South America.

The first meeting occurred in June 2022 during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), held in São Paulo, Brazil. This ultraconservative collective has been holding conferences since 1974 to bring together organizations, activists, and leaders from the sector. At the event in Brazil, Javier Milei, José Antonio Kast, and the host, Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the recently condemned former Brazilian president, Jair Mesías Bolsonaro, got to know each other and held their first meeting.

“Now at CPAC, the world’s largest conservative event, with the future presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei, and Chile, José Antonio Kast,” wrote Eduardo Bolsonaro in a social media post alongside a photo.

Just over a year later, in early July 2023, Milei traveled to Chile to hold two meetings, finalize a private discussion with Kast in Santiago, and establish preliminary contacts with empresario Kaiser. During this visit, the then-candidate for the Argentine presidency conducted a seminar titled ‘The Fight for Freedom: Latin America and the World’ at a venue in Lo Barnechea and gave a talk titled ‘Liberal Renaissance,’ organized by Axel Kaiser from the Foundation for Progress (FPP).

“He is a lion making history,” stated the leader of the Republican Party, wishing him success in the upcoming elections scheduled for August of the same year.

“Long live freedom, damn it!” Kast emphasized on that occasion via his social media.

After winning the presidential election, Milei’s team made sure to inform the Chilean press that José Kast was on the guest list prior to the official invitation to President Gabriel Boric. On December 10, 2023, a delegation from the Republican Party led by Kast, along with the party president, Arturo Squella, and Axel Kaiser, attended the ceremony, where Kaiser held a lengthy meeting with Milei.

Both Milei and Kast, along with Kaiser, are involved with the Atlas Economic Research Foundation (AERF), established in 1981 by British entrepreneur Antony Fisher to support the creation of think tanks aimed at promoting neoliberal ideologies worldwide. Under the leadership of Argentine Alejandro Chafuén for 17 years, the network expanded to over 400 think tanks globally, several of which are based in Latin America.

The swearing-in ceremony of Milei served as a reunion for old friends from these conservative think tank networks, an occasion that Kast took care to immortalize with his phone. To the left stands the Republican presidential candidate, accompanied by Argentine Agustín Laje (president of Fundación Libre), Alejandro Chafuén (Atlas Foundation), Santiago Abascal (VOX Spain), and Eduardo Verástegui (CPAC Mexico).

The trio of Bolsonaro-Milei-Kast reconvened on July 5, 2024, during a new CPAC meeting in Camboriú, Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. At this event, the Republican candidate delivered a speech focusing on the international landscape of Latin America. The copying of formulas in these conservative networks might explain why Kast decided to emulate the rock concerts of the Argentine president to conclude his presidential campaign, renting the Movistar Arena for over 50 million pesos for an event on November 11 titled ‘Chile’s Party,’ expecting to gather around 10,000 supporters. One may not see Kast plagiarizing Argentine rock songs clad in a flashy jacket, but the same anti-state and anti-communist slogans repeated ad nauseam by the new faces of the Latin American far-right will surely be present.

By Mauricio Becerra

La entrada José Kast and Javier Milei: More Than Just Friends in Latin America’s Right-Wing Movement se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.