Chile: Kast's Election Revives Memories of Pinochet Dictatorship

Chile's president-elect, right-wing leader José Antonio Kast, has pledged to restore law and order in the country. His election is reviving memories of the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990).

Kast will be Chile's most right-wing president since Pinochet. His victory is causing reactions, especially among those who suffered during the dictatorship.

Alicia Lira, who lost her partner to the military in 1986, expressed her sadness at Kast's election. Kast has announced that he will support a bill providing amnesty to former military and security officials held for human rights crimes committed during the junta.

Gabi Rivera, head of the Association of Families of Detained-Disappeared, remembers searching for her father, who disappeared in 1975. She considers the possible granting of amnesty to perpetrators of human rights violations to be appalling.

Many fear cuts to the budgets of the Museum of Memory and other human rights advocacy institutions. María Fernanda García, director of the museum, stressed that Chile's history should not be erased.