Chile's Feminist Movement Confronts Ultra-Conservative Presidential Transition
Chilean women's rights advocates are preparing for significant challenges as the country's most conservative leader since the Pinochet dictatorship prepares to assume presidential power this Wednesday. José Antonio Kast, a 60-year-old ultra-Catholic politician whose father belonged to the Nazi party, brings a three-decade record of opposing progressive gender policies that has activists deeply concerned about potential regression.
A History of Opposition to Women's Rights
Throughout his political career, Kast has consistently blocked advances in women's rights and gender equality. As a congressman in 2004, he voted against legalizing divorce when Chile became one of the world's last countries to permit marital dissolution. More recently, he vehemently opposed the 2017 legislation that legalized abortion under three limited exceptions: rape, when the mother's life is endangered, or when the fetus is unviable.
Kast has since advocated for a complete return to the total abortion ban that General Augusto Pinochet instituted in 1989 as one of his final decrees. The president-elect has also proposed requiring parental consent for the morning-after pill, further restricting reproductive autonomy.
Contrast with Regional Progress
These conservative positions starkly contrast with feminist and LGBTQ+ rights movements that have gained momentum across Latin America during the past decade. The region has witnessed a "green wave" of abortion rights expansion, with Argentina, Colombia, and several Mexican states legalizing or decriminalizing the procedure.
Kast's appointment of 30-year-old evangelical Judith Marín as women and gender equality minister underscores his administration's hardline stance. Marín, an anti-abortion activist, made headlines in 2017 when she disrupted a senate session on abortion decriminalization, shouting "return to the lord" as police forcibly removed her from the chamber.
Potential Impact on Existing Protections
Andrea Álvarez Carimoney, assistant professor in public health at the University of Chile, expressed concern about the incoming administration's potential to complicate abortion access. "They could make access to abortion much more complex," she explained, noting that even without sufficient congressional support to repeal the current law, the government could modify the three legal exceptions to create additional barriers.
Government statistics indicate approximately 7,000 legal abortions have occurred since the three-exceptions law took effect in 2017. However, independent studies estimate that more than 100,000 induced abortions take place annually in Chile, highlighting the significant gap between legal procedures and actual practice.
Feminist Movement's Recent Challenges
Chile's feminist movement, which brought hundreds of thousands of women into the streets in recent years, faced setbacks in constitutional reform efforts. The movement helped drive a 2022 attempt to rewrite the country's Pinochet-era constitution, with a draft that would have enshrined abortion as a constitutional right alongside equal participation quotas for women in public institutions.
However, voters rejected this proposal as overly complicated and far-reaching. A second constitutional rewrite attempt led by Kast's Republican party in 2023 similarly failed due to explicit partisan bias.
Divisions have also emerged regarding the performance of outgoing President Gabriel Boric's administration, which labeled itself "feminist." Some activists criticized the government for delaying presentation of a free abortion bill, which only entered congress in 2025.
Persistent Grassroots Resistance
Despite these challenges, Chile's feminist movement demonstrated its enduring strength during Sunday's International Women's Day march, which drew an estimated 500,000 participants to Santiago's streets. Among the hundreds of groups participating was the grassroots abortion network Con las Amigas y En La Casa, which provides vetted information about safe medication use for unwanted pregnancies.
One network member, who requested anonymity, expressed determination despite concerns about the incoming administration: "Women are having abortions right now, they will be doing it tomorrow, and they will keep doing it – no rightwing government will stop that. Kast is very dangerous, but we know that women in Chile are strong and organized. We are confident we will keep moving forward."
The network has operated for over a decade and amassed nearly 170,000 Instagram followers despite repeated social media blocks following complaints from anti-abortion campaigners.
Outgoing Administration's Defense
Outgoing women and gender minister Antonia Orellana defended her government's record, noting that their priority had been improving conditions for those seeking abortions under the three-exceptions rule. This included creating an inspection manual for health professionals to ensure compliance and establishing penalties for institutions violating abortion seekers' rights.
Orellana emphasized legislative constraints, stating, "We have a legislative minority. Where do we move forward?" She noted that public approval for broader abortion access reached record highs during their administration, reflecting changing social attitudes despite political obstacles.
