Kast's Cuenta Pública: Between Ambitions & Reality
Three months into his mandate, President Kast arrived at the Congreso Nacional in Valparaíso facing an uncomfortable backdrop: four consecutive months of economic contraction, unemployment at 9.1%, and a government that had struggled to project a clear governing line since taking office in March.
The Cuenta Pública was less a policy milestone than a reorientation exercise, an attempt to signal that the administration is now ready to govern.
The tone was deliberately consensual. Kast called repeatedly for national unity around his programme, acknowledged the severity of what he described as a “triple emergency” — economic, fiscal, and labour — and framed many of his announcements as the beginning of a process rather than immediate deliverables.
This represents a change from Kast: it is the language of a government calibrating expectations, not overpromising anymore.
The economic agenda: direction confirmed, timeline uncertain
The headline economic commitments were largely a restatement of the campaign platform, now dressed in implementation language. The government set a 2030 target of 4% annual growth and unemployment reduction to 6%, framed through the Ley de Reconstrucción Nacional as the legislative backbone of the reactivation agenda.
On investment unblocking, the numbers presented were striking: since March, more than $22 billion in investment has been approved, with May registering the highest monthly approval figure in over a decade. The government also claims to have resolved 60% of previously stalled projects and reduced resolution times by over 40%. These figures will need independent verification, but the direction is consistent with what the business community had been waiting for.
Infrastructure commitments were concrete and sizable. The expansion and modernisation of the ports of Valparaíso and San Antonio was announced with an investment of approximately $2 billion, directly relevant for the export sector. The Plan Ruta Austral commits to extending the Carretera Austral southward, and Santiago’s Metro expansion continues on lines 7, 8 and 9. These are longer-horizon projects, but they signal a government willing to use public infrastructure as an economic lever.
José Antonio Kast also announced his desire to provide more flexible working conditions in the tourism industry, modernize electricity tarification to make it clearer for users and facilitate access to real estate ownership for young generations.
The indigenous land reform: an underrated signal
One announcement that deserves closer attention is the proposed reform to indigenous land legislation. The government announced it would eliminate restrictions on how indigenous communities can use and manage their own land, enabling them to lease, mortgage, or develop it as they see fit.
The reform also includes a reformulation of the prior consultation process (consulta indígena) for new projects. This has direct implications for mining and energy development in regions where indigenous land rights have historically been a source of project delays and legal uncertainty.
If legislated, it would represent a meaningful reduction in one of the less-discussed but most persistent friction points for large-scale investment in northern and southern Chile. Congressional approval is required, and the political sensitivity of the issue should not be underestimated. But this is a reform worth tracking closely.
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What requires Congress — and what doesn’t
During his speech, Kast repeatedly called for unity and support for the platform that carried him to presidential victory. Indeed, he will need all the backing he can get to implement most of the policies he presented yesterday. While his coalition holds a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, it lacks a supermajority in the Senate. Furthermore, Chile’s right wing is fragmented, and the first three months of Kast’s term have already exposed potential divisions and tensions among the various factions.
Several of the most consequential measures presented yesterday do require Senate passage. It is the case for the indigenous land reform, the corporate tax cut and any modification to mining or lithium legislation. However, by contrast, measures within the executive’s direct control are already moving: permitting acceleration, the investment tracking platform, regulatory simplification, and the reorientation of public spending.
The Plan de Inspección Total, a review of fiscal spending across more than 500 public services using AI to detect anomalous patterns, is one such initiative, relevant as much for what it signals about the government’s approach to public sector efficiency as for its direct fiscal impact.
The bottom line
The Cuenta Pública delivered what the market needed: a coherent governing narrative after a turbulent first quarter. The economic agenda is pro-investment in direction, moderate in tone, and dependent on congressional dynamics for its most structural components.
The 2030 targets of 4% growth and 6% unemployment should be treated as aspirational anchors. The realistic near-term horizon centres on permitting speed, infrastructure contracting, and the legislative progress of the indigenous land and investment promotion bills. Those are the variables worth watching.
