Metaphors Turned Realities: Kast Fulfills Only 0.23% of His Program Before Public Accountability

Before assuming office at La Moneda, José Kast made speed a central political promise. During his campaign, while advocating for a proposal to cut US$6 billion from public spending, he boldly stated: “In 18 months, if I am President, judge me and demand my position”. Now in power, one of his flagship promises—the expulsion of 300,000 irregular migrants—has been referred to by the president himself as a “metaphor”, as highlighted by the report.

That metaphor has now transformed into hard data. The study “Beyond the Metaphor: Compliance Study of the Government Program 2026”, conducted by Rumbo Colectivo in collaboration with a network of progressive think tanks, evaluated the compliance of Kast’s program ahead of his first public accountability speech before the full Congress. The findings are damning: out of 440 verifiable measures, only 1 is reported as fulfilled.

Key Findings from the Report Assessing Kast’s Program Compliance

What did the study measure?
The report reviewed 440 verifiable measures from José Antonio Kast’s program, sourced from his Programmatic Bases and 18 supplementary plans published during the campaign.

What does “verifiable measure” mean?
General statements and vague promises are not included. The study considers commitments that can be verified with concrete actions: legislative proposals, decrees, resolutions, administrative decisions, or ongoing public policies.

What was the main result?
Among the 440 measures analyzed, only 1 is fully fulfilled. An additional 12 are classified as partially fulfilled, 76 are in progress, and 351 remain uninitiated. This translates to an effective compliance rate of just 0.23%.

What about the “Challenge 90”?
Although presented as a roadmap for the initial months of governance, the report notes that its content was neither officially published nor transparently disclosed in full, preventing it from being evaluated as a formal program.

Are there only failures?
No. The report also identifies 36 actions taken by the Executive that contradict programmatic commitments. Among these are budget cuts that would adversely impact areas where the Government had pledged to strengthen public policies.

In summary: the study does not measure announcements or intentions, but verifiable progress. Hence, the political blow delivered by the report lies in the gap between the Government’s narrative of speed and the measures that have actually been fulfilled.

Kast’s Program Compliance: One Fulfilled Promise Out of 440

Simply put: the report based its assessment on the Programmatic Bases submitted to Servel and the 18 supplementary plans published during Kast’s campaign, excluding rhetorical promises or those hard to measure. Therefore, general phrases like “improving Chile” were not evaluated, but rather commitments that could be contrasted with concrete actions from the Government.

Using that methodology, the study identified 457 measures, of which 17 were repeats, resulting in a final universe of 440 unique commitments. Out of these, 351 remain uninitiated, 76 are in progress, 12 are partially fulfilled, and only 1 was categorized as fulfilled. In percentage terms, the effective progress of the program stands at just 0.23%, while 79.77% shows no verifiable advancements.

This measurement coincides with the symbolic closure of the so-called “Challenge 90”, the roadmap the Government presented as crucial for its initial months. However, there is also an issue: the report states that this plan was publicly mentioned by officials but was never officially published or transparently disclosed in its entirety.

To put it plainly: it is not enough to say that a commitment “is on file” or “is under evaluation.” For a promise to progress, the study demands some verifiable step: a proposed bill submitted, a resolution, a decree, a public policy in execution, or a verifiable administrative action.

Security, the Star Focus, Also Shows Failures

One of the most sensitive data relates to security, a key theme throughout Kast’s campaign narrative. According to the study, this area encompasses 113 measures, accounting for 25.7% of the entire program. However, progress is minimal: the report indicates that 77% of security measures remain uninitiated, despite being one of the pillars of the government’s discourse.

The most notable case is the Implacable Plan, aimed at combating organized crime and delinquency. According to the report, this plan shows 12 measures without any initial public policy management. At least eight of these require legal empowerment, but the Ministry of Security has allegedly not submitted any legislative proposals to address these matters as of the study’s conclusion.

A similar situation arises with the Reinicia Plan, focused on modernization, state auditing, integrity, and transparency. The report categorizes it among the plans without progress: 19 measures, 100% uninitiated.

Not Only Low Progress: The Report Identifies Contradictions

The study doesn’t merely measure what’s lacking. It also identifies Executive actions that, according to the methodology used, not only fail to comply with the program but also contradict it.

In total, the report identifies 36 public policy actions led by the Executive that explicitly violate verifiable commitments. Of these, 26 relate to budgetary contradictions, while others concern political or administrative decisions.

A concrete example: the program promised to reinforce the National Mental Health Plan, but the report asserts that this promise contradicts Decree No. 333, which cut $18.856 million from the Primary Care Program, precisely where community mental health is executed. Another case is early childhood education, where the commitment to increase resources and create funding for kindergartens clashes with a cut of $17.800 million to the Junji budget.

The report also highlights the case of the Universal Childcare Center. It states that the Government committed to advancing in this area, but then the Treasury announced a challenge before the Constitutional Court to invalidate a norm included in the reconstruction and economic reform project.

Before Public Accountability, Credibility is the Issue

The report acknowledges that governing involves restrictions, negotiations, and external conditions. Not everything depends exclusively on the Executive, especially when a measure requires congressional approval. However, the political point is different: Kast approaches his first public accountability session with a narrative of speed firmly established, a “Challenge 90” that lacks full publication, and a program that, according to this measurement, reflects more announcements than results.

Hence, Kast’s program compliance becomes an uncomfortable question for La Moneda: how much of what was promised was a real plan, how much depended on unguaranteed conditions, and how much finally turned out to be, once again, a metaphor.

Ahead of his first public accountability session, the President faces a daunting task: explaining why the government that promised immediate results shows, according to this report, only one fulfilled measure out of 440. The metaphor is no longer sufficient. Now, there are numbers.