King Felipe VI meets with Noboa, Milei, and Corina Machado at José Antonio Kast’s inauguration in Chile

Eduardo González King Felipe VI attended the inauguration ceremony of Chile's new president, José Antonio Kast, a supporter of the Pinochet regime, on Wednesday, March 11. Also present were, among others, the presidents of Ecuador (Daniel Noboa), Honduras (Nasry Asfura), and Argentina (Javier Milei), as well as Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. The King arrived in Chile on Tuesday, where he was received at the Cousiño Palace by then-President-elect José Antonio Kast. The monarch was accompanied by the Secretary of State for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Susana Sumelzo; the Chief of Staff of His Majesty the King, Camilo Villarino; and the Spanish Ambassador to Chile, Laura Oroz, among others. Later, the King was received at La Moneda Palace by outgoing President Gabriel Boric. During his stay in Santiago, the King also met at the residence of the Spanish ambassador with representatives of the Spanish community residing in the country. Felipe VI also met with the President of Honduras, Nasry Asfura, and the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa. Later, the Monarch attended the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony, in which José Antonio Kast officially assumed the Presidency of the Republic of Chile after the exchange of the Presidential Sash. “Yes, I swear,” Kast responded to the question of whether he promised or swore to uphold and enforce the laws of the Republic. The ceremony took place at the National Congress building in Valparaíso, in the presence of more than a thousand guests. Besides Felipe VI, other heads of state from the Ibero-American region attended the ceremony: Rodrigo Chaves, President of Costa Rica; Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador; Nasry Asfura, President of Honduras; and Rodrigo Paz, President of Bolivia. José Raúl Mulino, President of Panama; Yamandú Orsi, President of Uruguay; Javier Milei, President of Argentina; and Santiago Peña, President of Paraguay, were among the attendees. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, was also invited, but canceled his trip at the last minute and was replaced by his Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira. The United States was represented by Christopher Landau, Under Secretary of State in the Donald Trump administration. China was represented by its Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ni Hong. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was also among the guests at the ceremony. It is worth noting that one of her key campaign promises was to expel nearly 340,000 undocumented migrants, mostly Venezuelans. [caption id="attachment_139203" align="alignnone" width="750"] The King with the outgoing president, Gabriel Boric. / Photo: Royal Household[/caption] The King represents Spain at the inaugurations of Latin American presidents, a role that King Felipe has held since 1996 when he was still Prince of Asturias. With Kast's inauguration in Chile, Felipe VI has now attended the inauguration of a Latin American leader 19 times since becoming King. Specifically, the Monarch was present in 2018 at the inauguration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador as President of Mexico; in 2019, at that of Laurentino Cortizo of Panama; in 2020, at those of Luis Lacalle Pou of Uruguay and Luis Arce of Bolivia; in 2021, at those of Guillermo Lasso Mendoza of Ecuador and Pedro Castillo of Peru; in 2022, at those of Xiomara Castro of Honduras, Gabriel Boric of Chile, Rodrigo Chaves of Costa Rica, and Gustavo Petro of Colombia; and in 2023, at those of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Santiago Peña Palacios of Paraguay, and Javier Milei of Argentina. In 2024, he attended the inaugurations of Guatemalan President César Bernardo Arévalo de León; Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino Quintero; and the re-elected presidents Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic; in 2025, he attended the inauguration of Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi; and in 2026, he attended the inaugurations of Portuguese President António José Seguro and Chilean President José Antonio Kast. The King's tour of South America will conclude between Thursday and Friday in Bolivia, where he will meet with President Rodrigo Paz. The monarch was unable to attend Paz's inauguration in November 2025, which was attended by the President of Congress, Francina Armengol, accompanied by Susana Sumelzo. José Antonio Kast The far-right candidate José Antonio Kast defeated the leftist Jeannette Jara in the second round of the presidential elections on December 14, with more than 58% of the vote. His term will end in 2030. A lawyer and founder of the Republican Party of Chile, Kast was previously a member of parliament and had already run for president twice, in 2017 and 2021. Since 2006, no Chilean president has been succeeded in an election by a candidate from their own party. In these last presidential elections, the left obtained its worst result since the return to democracy in 1990. Furthermore, Kast is the first far-right candidate to win the presidency in an election. In 1988, the new president voted "Yes" in the referendum on the continuation of the dictatorial regime of César Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), whom he has declared himself an admirer of. Following the elections, the Spanish government congratulated Kast on his victory and expressed its “willingness to work closely with his government to further strengthen the friendship between our peoples and the strategic relationship between both countries for the benefit of our citizens and the prosperity of the Ibero-American region.” Meanwhile, the leader of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, stated on social media that “the Chilean people have chosen freedom,” and the leader of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, celebrated the victory of his “dear friend and ally” and congratulated the Chilean people “for having opted, with a clear and overwhelming decision, for truth, freedom, and prosperity.”

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