Original article: El día que Kast trató de fracasado a gobierno de Piñera y “el peor presidente de los últimos 30 años”: Hoy le quiere hacer un monumento
The contrast in perspectives is striking. In June 2021, during a television program, a emphatic José Antonio Kast declared the then-president: «This government will have no legacy. President Piñera will go down in history as the worst president of the last 30 years because he has repeatedly broken his promises.” This statement, highlighted by the politician on his X account, marked years of passionate opposition, where the Republican leader did not hold back in his criticisms.
After the public accountability report of that year, Kast expanded his critique: «This Government failed a long time ago, and it failed because, despite being elected by a majority of Chileans who believed in its promises and commitments, it decided to break every one of those promises,” also accusing Piñera of having «completely betrayed the Chileans» and of aligning himself with ideas from his «opponents«.
Kast’s rigid stance was not new. During the 2017 presidential campaign, he had already sown distrust toward Piñera, stating on 24 Horas TVN that «Sebastián Piñera is a candidate who raises many doubts«.
His criticism went beyond management and touched upon deep ideological veins, such as when in 2021 he linked his rejection of any alliance with forces that supported same-sex marriage, establishing a clear dividing line with the former president, who ultimately enacted that law. For Kast, Piñera’s government was the antithesis of the «conviction» he claimed to stand for.
Also see a selection of quotes from José Antonio Kast about Sebastián Piñera
Kast’s Transformation Regarding Sebastián Piñera
However, the death of Piñera in 2024 and Kast’s own presidential election in 2025 sparked a radical shift in discourse. On December 22, 2025, the then-elect president confirmed to T13 and Radio Agricultura a significant symbolic gesture: «any president who does not have his portrait when appropriate, or his bust when appropriate, will have it,” announcing thus the installation of a bust of Piñera in the Gallery of Presidents at La Moneda, a demand that sectors of traditional right had made to Gabriel Boric’s government.
This pivot culminated in a commemorative reflection for the second anniversary of the ex-president’s passing. From his office in Las Condes, highlighted by Radio Pauta, Kast adopted a conciliatory, forward-looking tone: «We are looking towards the future. We have recognized positive things that happened during Sebastián Piñera’s government. We have moved past the differences because today we seek what unites us.” He added that in politics, differences are legitimate, but advocated for a «constructive opposition» and that on an anniversary like this, one «remembers the positive things.”
