COLUMN | José Antonio Kast and Security

The challenge for JAK's team and their supporters is to present the public security strategy they will follow starting March 11, 2026, which includes the objectives, means, and their method of use.

Clearly, the perception of security is much better than it was last week. Knowing almost for certain that the next government will be led by José Antonio Kast (JAK) provides reassurance and hope to a significant portion of Chile that starting in March 2026, we will have a President of the Republic for whom public security is indeed the top priority and not just a campaign slogan.

The willingness to uphold the rule of law and exercise presidential authority are essential components of any public security system and national security as a whole. Without these characteristics, no system can function, regardless of the material and human resources available in this area. A lack of willingness to make things happen is equivalent to multiplying by zero.

Except for Professor Artés, all candidates in the last debate literally promised “lead or jail” for criminals, to close the borders, and to end the insurgency and terrorism in the Southern Macrozone, but most right-wing voters believed that JAK and his team provide the greatest guarantees that this will become a reality. It is clear that Johannes Kaiser also generated a sense of being good for security, but they preferred to play it safe with the Republican candidate.

That said, there are several important issues that still need to be addressed for higher levels of security to be real. I refer to human and material capacities in police, prison, and intelligence matters, improved coordination with the Public Ministry, courts, the UAF, SII, and Customs, and what is needed for the support of the Armed Forces to be more effective and sustainable. Some believe that improving public security is merely a matter of better management. There is some truth to this, but it is clearly not everything. Better management comes from placing professionals in security and defense matters in charge of the ministries and undersecretariats of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense. It also involves staffing the public security regional offices with specialists in the field, rather than as the current government did, which prioritized ideology over knowledge and experience.

Having made it clear, as in any area, that will is perhaps the most important factor, but that without resources, management, and strategy it is nothing more than voluntarism,

the challenge for JAK’s team and their supporters is to present the public security strategy they will follow starting March 11, 2026, which includes the objectives, means, and their method of use. The idea of a government that focuses solely on what is relevant, on national emergencies, is an excellent idea. It allows the National Congress to focus, avoiding sterile discussions, and additionally, it prevents entering the detrimental logic of achieving everything in 90 days, a timeframe that, given the situation of public finances and the complex composition of both chambers, may prove insufficient to demonstrate results.

The key to the success of José Antonio Kast’s government will not only lie in his willingness to employ all the forces of the State, including certainly the police and the Armed Forces, in the fight against organized crime, the crime that plagues us, and the insurgency and terrorism affecting the regions of Biobío and Araucanía. It will depend on the

legal and political support given to the use of force, support that has been absent in recent administrations and without which 100% effectiveness in state action cannot be achieved. Resolving the problem of public security will not be free. There will be casualties. Strategically,

it must be established that organized crime and delinquency are national security issues. So far, governments have treated them as public security issues. This redefinition allows not only the Public Ministry and the police to engage in their fight but all the capacities of the State of Chile. Without this redefinition, we will not emerge victorious, and JAK’s election will have been in vain.