The administration of José Antonio Kast in Chile is consolidating its political narrative around a perceived sense of moral superiority rooted in the need to rebuild the nation, according to an analysis published by elmostrador.cl.
The article argues that the right wing has leveraged the conviction of a national rescue project to challenge President Gabriel Boric's management. This strategy aims to frame the current administration as a project devoid of values, effectively turning political disputes into a clash of principles.
According to the text, this tactic allows political actors to insulate themselves from the negative impacts of their own decisions. By operating under what Max Weber termed the "ethics of conviction," politicians justify their actions through their beliefs without taking responsibility for the actual outcomes.
The risk of governing without accountability
The column notes that Kast's inaugural speech already displayed these traits, as he claimed the country was "in worse condition than I could have imagined." At that time, the leader proposed the need for an emergency government that would act "with conviction."
Currently, the right-wing administration maintains that Chile is facing a breakdown of the rule of law and a security crisis caused by previous management. The report states that this narrative is used to justify high-impact promises, such as a total audit of the State or the deportation of 300,000 irregular migrants within 100 days.
However, the analysis warns that these measures could trigger economic and social chaos if implemented. The author argues that for those driven by conviction rather than an "ethics of responsibility," the consequences of such promises are secondary to the goal of national reconstruction.
The text concludes that this model of legitimacy is historically fragile. Citing Weber's warnings regarding ideologues and dictators, the article points out that conviction tends to collide with reality, quickly depleting the political capital gained from claiming moral superiority.
