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Kast Unveils 24-Member Cabinet With Business Allies, Taps Ex-Pinochet Lawyers for Defense and Justice

The lineup signals a security-first, pro-business agenda that has drawn immediate criticism from human rights groups.

Overview

  • Economist Jorge Quiroz was named finance minister after advising Kast’s program, advocating deregulation, lower corporate taxes and fiscal adjustments.
  • Fernando Barros will lead defense and Fernando Rabat will head justice and human rights, prompting objections from victims’ families because both previously defended Augusto Pinochet.
  • Business figures feature prominently, including longtime Luksic group executive Francisco Pérez Mackenna as foreign minister, with 16 of 24 ministers unaffiliated with political parties.
  • Career prosecutor Trinidad Steinert will run the Public Security ministry, reflecting Kast’s pledge to prioritize crime reduction.
  • Daniel Mas will oversee mining and economic development in a country that leads global copper production and ranks second in lithium, with the cabinet set to take office on March 11.