Panama's Government Congratulates Chile's New President José Antonio Kast

The Government of Panama congratulated this Sunday the far-right José Antonio Kast on his victory in the second round of the presidential elections held in Chile and wished him that "he achieves the objectives set, for the well-being, stability and development of the Chilean people." "The National Government congratulates the new President of the Republic of Chile, His Excellency José Antonio Kast, on his victory in the general elections held in that country," states a communique from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama. Likewise, it "wishes that the government that President Kast will lead achieves the objectives set, for the well-being, stability and development of the Chilean people, and reiterates its willingness to continue strengthening the historical ties of friendship, cooperation and mutual respect between both countries," it concludes. Kast won this Sunday the presidential elections in Chile by a wide margin to the leftist Jeannette Jara, former Minister of Labor of the current president, Gabriel Boric, with more than 99% of the votes counted. In the same way, the Government of José Raúl Mulino expressed "its recognition to the Chilean people for its exemplary civic and democratic behavior during the electoral process, a reflection of the strength of its institutions and its commitment to democratic values." The elected president, 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. According to preliminary data from the Electoral Service (Servel), the 59-year-old ultra-Catholic former deputy obtains 58.18% of the votes against 41.82% of Boric's former minister, 51 years old. With strong ties to other regional far-right leaders, Kast has promised the mass expulsion of migrants, criminalizing migration, or building maximum-security prisons with total isolation for drug trafficking leaders.