Republican Party of Chile Partido Republicano de Chile | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PRCh |
| Leader | José Antonio Kast |
| President | Arturo Squella |
| General Secretary | Ruth Hurtado |
| Vice Presidents | 1st Tomás Bengolea López 2ndMaría Gatica Gajardo 3rdJosé Carlos Meza 4th Romina Cifuentes González 5thLuis Silva Irarrázaval 6th Catalina Ugarte Millán |
| Founder | José Antonio Kast |
| Founded | 10 June 2019 (2019-06-10) |
| Legalised | 21 January 2020 |
| Split from | Independent Democratic Union |
| Preceded by | Republican Action |
| Headquarters | Presidente Errázuriz 4305,Las Condes |
| Think tank | Republican Ideas[1] |
| Student wing | Student Action |
| Youth wing | Republican Party Youth[2] |
| Membership(June 2025) | 18,820[3] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing[5] |
| National affiliation | Christian Social Front (2021–2022) Change for Chile (since 2025)[6] |
| Colours | Chilean national colours: Blue White Red |
| Chamber of Deputies | 31 / 155 |
| Senate | 5 / 50 |
| Communal Councils | 234 / 2,252 |
| Regional Councils | 60 / 302 |
| Mayors | 8 / 345 |
| Regional Governors | 0 / 16 |
| Election symbol | |
.svg) | |
| Website | |
| partidorepublicanodechile.cl | |
TheRepublican Party of Chile (Spanish:Partido Republicano de Chile, officially abbreviated asPRCh,[a][4] and commonly abbreviated in the media asREP[8][9][10] or, less frequently,PRep[11]) is aright-wing[12][13][14] andconservativepolitical party founded inChile in 2019 byJosé Antonio Kast, who remains its leader and president-elect.[15][16][17]
The party issocially conservative and in favour of aliberalsocial market economy.[18] The party opposesabortion,euthanasia,same-sex marriage,proposals for a new Chilean constitution, and advocates a tough approach tolaw and order,gang violence,political corruption andillegal immigration into Chile.[19] Economically, it advocates a largelyfree-market economy with strong protections forprivate property, low taxes, lowergovernment spending, and incentives forentrepreneurship.[19][20]
The party gained visibility during the political upheavals that followed the2019 Social Outburst and the subsequent constitutional reform process, initially operating from a position of disadvantage within the Chilean right. Kast placed first in the initial round of the2021 general election, building on a limited but defined electoral base and securing approximately 28 percent of the vote.[21]
In the2023 Constitutional Council elections, the Republicans won the largest share of seats of any political group and played a leading role in drafting a proposed new constitution of Chile which was rejected ina referendum in December 2023.[22][23] Kast led polls for the presidential run-off in the2025 Chilean general election, and won the presidency on 14 December 2025.
José Antonio Kast, the founder of the party, was a deputy for 16 years, and a member of theIndependent Democratic Union (UDI) for 20 years. In 2017he ran for president, finishing in fourth place with nearly 8% of the vote.[24][25]
Kast became disillusioned with UDI and resigned in protest, believing that the party criticized former Chilean dictatorAugusto Pinochet too often.[26][27]
With the base of support he obtained with the election, he decided to found a political movement.
The Republican Party began as the Chilean manifestation of theconservative wave in Latin America.[28] 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 inLas Condes, and it was named "Acción Republicana" (Republican Action).[29]
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 theUDI. One of them is the only deputy the party has in theChamber of Deputies,Ignacio Urrutia.[30]
On 21 January 2020, the Servel legally constituted the party in the regions ofO'Higgins,Maule andÑuble, after the necessary number of signatures was presented.[31]
On 14 August 2020, the party was officially constituted in the regions ofBiobío andAraucanía, at the same time violent incidents related with theMapuche conflict were taking place in the zone.[32]
On 9 September, the party was constituted inSantiago Metropolitan Region, and it was announced that it would present candidates to the municipal elections.[33] 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.[34][35]
Following the social unrest that began in late 2019, Republicans entered the political arena from a position of disadvantage, operating outside the main center-right coalition,Chile Vamos, and with limited institutional representation.[36][37]
During the2020 constitutional referendum, the party actively campaigned for the «Reject» option, which obtained approximately 22% of the vote nationwide. Although this result confirmed the minority status of its position at the time, it nonetheless provided a clearly defined electoral base amid a highly polarized political environment.[21]
After that, the party focused on consolidating this support, articulating a platform centered onlaw and order, opposition to the constitutional process, and socially conservative principles.[21] This strategy proved electorally consequential during the2021 general election, when Kast secured roughly 28% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election.[21]
Observers noted that this outcome reflected the party’s ability to expand beyond its initial plebiscitary base, transforming an early minority position into a competitive electoral force within the Chilean right.[38]
2023 saw the party win a landslide victory in theConstitutional Council election of May.[39] In December, after the defeat in theconstitutional referendum, 26 members including senatorRojo Edwards renounced the party.[40]
In January 2024 DeputyJohannes Kaiser renounced after being sanctioned being removed from legislative committees for making explicit that he voted "Against" the Constitutional Proposal of 2023, supported by the party directive. He emphasizes that he wasn't going to participate in any campaign for his option for respect for the party, something which he accomplished. He founded theNational Libertarian Party in July of the same year, having the signatures required in 2025 to officially create the new political party.[41]
Following the defeat in the 2023 referendum, Republicans faced a more demanding scenario within the Chilean right, where it was reopened a political space for the traditional center-right (Chile Vamos). In this context, the party shifted from a phase of rapid ascent to a more conventional stage of electoral competition.[42][43]
During the2024 municipal andregional elections, Republicans competed directly for the same electorate as Chile Vamos, particularly in urban municipalities and middle-class sectors. The results were uneven, with localized advances but without systematically displacing traditional parties at the territorial level, highlighting the limits of the party’s expansion outside highly polarized political environments.[44][45]
Within this framework, programmatic ambiguities and communication missteps byEvelyn Matthei's candidacy during the first half of 2025 contributed to strengthening the Republican's relative position among right-wing voters. Analysts noted that these hesitations facilitated Republican consolidation among voters seeking a clearer alternative in terms of leadership and political positioning. By June 2025, the party had established itself as a competitive actor within the sector, amid fragmentation and open competition on the Chilean right.[46][47][48][49]
Political scientist Cristóbal Rovira categorizes the party as belonging to a populistradical right, rather than extreme right which is, in their view, academically an incorrect label for the party, because it is not opposed to the democratic systemper se, but rather seeks "illiberal democracy."[5] 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 partiesNational Renewal (RN) andIndependent Democratic Union (UDI).[28]
The party's ideological doctrine is similar to the previously existingGuildism and is the main group of "organic Pinochetism", with the party receiving more support ascentre-left andcentre-right parties began to reach a point of political convergence in the area policies and a perceived collusion in corruption as scandals arose.[26][28] According to Cox and Blanco, the Republican Party appeared in Chilean politics in a similar manner to Spain'sVox party, with both parties splitting off from an existing right-wing party to collect disillusioned voters.[28] The Republican Party calls for measures to reduceillegal immigration, including building a ditch along the border withBolivia.[50]
The party described 2019 protests in Chile as a criminal outbreak.[51][52] Regarding economic policy, the party supports asocial market economy, including cuttingtaxes.[4]
The Republican Party holdssocially conservative views of a traditional society and according to traditionalWestern Christian point of view, supporting aheterosexualnuclear family while opposingabortion andassisted suicide.[26][28][53] Members of the party have also expressed criticism tofeminist attitudes.
The following is a list of the presidential candidates supported by the Republican Party (information gathered from theArchive of Chilean Elections):
| Election year | Candidate | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Votes | % Votes | # Votes | % Votes | |||
| 2021 | José Antonio Kast | 1,961,779 | 27.9% | 3,650,088 | 44.1% | Lost |
| 2025 | José Antonio Kast | 3,092,946 | 23.93% | 7,243,612 | 58.17% | Won |
| Election year | Chamber of Deputies | Senate | Status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Votes | % Votes | Seats | # Votes | % Votes | Seats | ||
| 2021 | 666,726 | 10.54% | 14 / 155 | 336,305 | 7.22% | 1 / 50 | Opposition |
| 2025 | 1,407,614 | 13.28% | 31 / 155 | 531,834 | 17.23% | 5 / 50 | Government |
| Election year | Councillors | Mayors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Votes | % Votes | Seats | # Votes | % Votes | Seats | |
| 2021 | 188,542 | 3.09% | 12 / 2,252 | 83 237 | 1.31% | 0 / 345 |
| 2024 | 1.422.032 | 13.81% | 233 / 2,256 | 489.416 | 4.18% | 8 / 345 |
| Election year | Regional Councillors | Governors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Votes | % Votes | Seats | # Votes | % Votes | Seats | |
| 2024 | 1.528.563 | 15.70% | 60 / 302 | 1.493.090 | 13.84% | 0 / 16 |
In their ideological core, the radical populist rights are composed of the combination of three traits: nativism, authoritarianism and populism. ... This recap allows to identify dimensions of analysis applicable to the Republican Party.
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