The Republican Party ( es, Partido Republicano; PLR) is a

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establi ...

and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Its founder and current leader is Chilean presidential candidate

José Antonio Kast José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chile, Chilean lawyer and politician. Kast ran for president of Chile, president in 2021, 2021 Chilean general election#President, winning the first round and ...

. The Republican Party is one of two parties in the

Christian Social Front The Christian Social Front ( es, Frente Social Cristiano, FSC) was a Chilean far-right electoral coalition formally created on August 6, 2021 between the Republican Party and the Christian Conservative Party for the 2021 general elections. Hist ...

coalition, along with the smaller

Christian Conservative Party The Christian Conservative Party ( no, Kristent Konservativt Parti, KKP) was a political party in Norway which was originally formed in 1965 as the Democratic Party of Norway. The party was later also known as the Christian Democrats and the Peace ...

History

Background

, the founder of the party, was a deputy for 16 years, and a member of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) for 20 years. In 2017 he ran for president, finishing in fourth place with nearly 8% of the vote. Kast became disillusioned with UDI and resigned in protest, believing that the party criticized former Chilean dictator

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

too often. With the base of support he obtained with the election, he decided to found a political movement.

Foundation

The Republican Party began as the Chilean manifestation of the

conservative wave The conservative wave ( pt, onda conservadora; es, ola conservadora), or blue tide ( pt, maré azul; es, marea azul), was a right-wing political phenomenon that occurred in the mid-2010s to the early 2020s in Latin America as a direct reaction ...

in Latin America. On 3 March 2018, Kast held the first meeting of (what at that time was) the new movement. Some time after, on 9 April, the movement was presented at the Omnium Hall in

Las Condes Las Condes is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. The area is inhabited primarily by upper-mid- to high income families, and known in the Chilean collective consciousness as home to the country's economi ...

, and it was named "Acción Republicana" (''Republican Action''). On 10 June 2019, Kast presented the party to the Servel, the party formation is still ongoing. More than half of the directive is composed of ex members of the

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

. One of them is the only deputy the party has in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, Ignacio Urrutia. On 21 January 2020, the Servel legally constituted the party in the regions of O'Higgins, Maule and Ñuble, after the necessary number of signatures was presented. On 14 August 2020, the party was officially constituted in the regions of Biobío and Araucanía, at the same time violent incidents related with the

Mapuche conflict The Mapuche conflict ( es, conflicto mapuche) involves indigenous peoples, indigenous Mapuche communities located in Araucanía (historic region), Araucanía and nearby regions of Chile and Puelmapu, Argentina. It is often referred to as a confli ...

were taking place in the zone. On 9 September, the party was constituted in

Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...

, and it was announced that it would present candidates to the municipal elections. On 19 July 2021, the party was constituted in the regions of Arica and Parinacota, Atacama, Aysén and Magallanes, making it a national-level party, constituted in all Chilean regions.

Ideology

The Republican Party has been described as being

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

, nativist,

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and

. Political scientist Cristóbal Rovira categorizes the party as belonging to a populist radical right, rather than far-right which is academically an incorrect label for the party.Cristóbal Rovira: "El Partido Republicano no es de extrema derecha; es derecha populista radical"
Revista Pauta. October 31, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021. According to Political scientist Mireya Dávila the party contain some positions typical of the far-right, but notes also that far-right groups have also found expression in the older right-wing parties National Renewal and

Independent Democratic Union The Independent Democratic Union (''Unión Demócrata Independiente'', UDI) is a conservative and right-wing political party in Chile, founded in 1983. Its founder was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a civilian allied with A ...

. The party's ideological doctrine is similar to the previously existing

Gremialismo Gremialismo, or guildism, is a social, political, and economic ideology, inspired in the Catholic social teachings that claims that every correct social order should base itself in intermediary societies between persons and the state, which are ...

and is the main group of " organic Pinochetism", the new far-right in Chile, with the party receiving more support as

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...

and

center-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and mer ...

parties began to reach a point of political convergence in the area policies and a perceived collusion in corruption as scandals arose. According to Cox and Blanco, the Republican Party appeared in Chilean politics in a similar manner to Spain's Vox party, with both parties splitting off from an existing right wing party to collect disillusioned voters. The Republican Party calls for measures to reduce

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

, including building a ditch along the border with

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. The party describes recent popular protests in Chile as ideological

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

and frames indigenous movements as

narcoterrorism Narcoterrorism, in its original context, is understood to refer to the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by t ...

. Regarding economic policy, the Republican Party supports

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

and a

market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...

, including cutting

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

es. The Republican Party holds

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...

views of a heteropatriarchal society and attaches itself to a traditional

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

point of view, supporting a

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...

nuclear family A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger ...

while opposing

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and

assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

. Kast has been recognized as the main leader of the Chilean

extreme right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

for several years, consistently advocating

neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

economics,

anti-immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

policies and opposition to

and

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

Presidential candidates

The following is a list of the presidential candidates supported by the Republican Party (information gathered from th
Archive of Chilean Elections
: *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

–

(lost)

Electoral history

Presidential election

Congress election

References

External links

Official web site
{{Chilean political parties Nationalist parties in Chile Right-wing populism in South America Right-wing populist parties Conservative parties in Chile Political parties established in 2019 2019 establishments in Chile Opposition to same-sex marriage Right-wing parties in South America Right-wing politics in Chile National conservative parties Social conservative parties Far-right political parties in Chile