Panama's President Congratulates Chile's President-Elect

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino made a congratulatory call to Chile's President-elect José Antonio Kast, wishing him the best and the Chilean people well in this new chapter. Last Sunday, both Mulino and the Panamanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated the President-elect of Chile and wished him 'to achieve the objectives set,' as well as to Chilean society for its 'exemplary civic and democratic behavior during the electoral process.' On Monday, President of Panama José Raúl Mulino called the President-elect of Chile, José Antonio Kast, to 'wish him the best' while hoping to 'continue strengthening ties' between the two countries 'based on all the good we already have in common' and extended an invitation to the Central American country. According to preliminary data from the Electoral Service, the 59-year-old former ultra-Catholic deputy obtained 58.1% of the votes against 41.8% for the former minister of President Gabriel Boric, which is the second widest victory since the return to democracy in Chile (the first was that of Michelle Bachelet against Evelyn Matthei in 2013),' Mulino wrote on X. Mulino also 'hopes' to attend Kast's inauguration, scheduled for March 11 in Santiago, while also inviting the Chilean President-elect to Panama, according to a video of the call released by the Presidency of Panama. Ultra-right-wing José Antonio Kast, who was leading the polls for the second round of the Chilean presidential election, defeated by a wide margin the leftist Jeannette Jara, a unitary candidate of the left and former Minister of Labor of the outgoing President Gabriel Boric's government. We hope to meet soon and continue strengthening the ties between our countries based on all the good we already have in common and generating more opportunities for both nations! The President-elect, who campaigned in favor of the continuity of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) in the 1988 plebiscite, is the first pinochetist to reach La Moneda since the return to democracy and in his first speech highlighted that the 'milestones' of his administration will be security, migration, and economic progress.