Kast Makes UN General Assembly Debut: "Chile Is Back", Criticizes UN as "Not Up to the Challenge"

President José Antonio Kast delivered his first address to the UN General Assembly on September 22, declaring "Chile está de vuelta" (Chile is back) and framing his first six months in office as the start of a reversal after years of stagnation. He cited an 11.5% drop in the homicide rate and an 86% reduction in irregular border crossings under the Border Shield Plan, the corporate tax cut from 27% to 23%, twenty-year tax invariability for major investments, and more than US$44 billion in investment applications entering the environmental permitting system since March. He also criticized the UN as "not up to the challenge of our times," calling for reduced bureaucracy, suspension of non-priority agendas and Security Council reform — remarks read as a nod to Washington. On the sidelines, Kast met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who highlighted Canada as Chile's largest foreign investor (nearly US$40 billion in 2025) and discussed expanding cooperation on defence, aerospace, critical minerals and a planned 2027 joint Antarctic expedition. Opposition deputy Camila Vallejo said Kast was "once again embarrassing Chile before the world."