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In his first General Assembly address as Chile's president, José Antonio Kast declared "Chile is back" and accused the United Nations of failing today's challenges, proposing three reforms that include an overhaul of the Security Council.
- He backed the pitch with first-half figures (an 11.5% drop in homicides, an 86% fall in irregular border entries and a corporate tax cut to 23%) and urged foreign investors to return.
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Chile's Congress split along coalition lines: opposition lawmakers said he disparaged the country abroad, allies praised the reform push, and the Shield of the Americas summit and Michelle Bachelet's failed UN bid shadowed the trip.
José Antonio Kast stepped up to the General Assembly rostrum in New York on Tuesday for the first time as Chile's head of state and closed with a short slogan: Chile is back. In an address of roughly 18 minutes on the opening day of the 81st session's general debate, the conservative leader blended a promotional pitch for a government barely six months old with an unusually direct critique of the institution hosting him.
