President-elect of Chile says he has formed a technical cabinet; 16 of the 24 nominees have no party affiliation
The president of Chile, (Republican Party, right), presented on Tuesday (20 January 2026) in Santiago the 24 ministers of the government that will take office on March 11. The composition gained prominence due to the presence of 2 former lawyers of the dictator Augusto Pinochetwho governed the country from 1973 to 1990: Fernando Barros, appointed to the Ministry of Defense, and Fernando Rabat, appointed to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
The choice provoked a reaction from entities linked to families of victims of the dictatorship. A group of 16 associations of family members of disappeared and executed political detainees released a statement stating that the appointment “constitutes a direct offense to the memory of the victims of the dictatorship and their families” e “reaffirms a trajectory of support for the regime and a commitment to impunity”. The criticism focused mainly on Rabat, who will head the department responsible for memory policies and sensitive decisions, such as pardons. The information is from .
Barros, 68 years old, arrives at Defense with a technical-business profile. He graduated in Law from the University of Chile and specialized in taxation at Harvard and the London School of Economics. Without party affiliation, he maintained historical links with the traditional right and worked for 30 years as a lawyer for former president Sebastián Piñera, in addition to having structured the blind trusts that allowed him to assume the Presidency in 2010. Barros was part of the team that worked for Pinochet’s release during the former dictator’s arrest in London in 1998, an episode he described as “perhaps the most complex case” that he had to face.
Rabat, 54 years old, is a civil lawyer, with no party affiliation. He graduated from the University of the Andes, where he received an award for best academic performance, and teaches civil law at the Development University. He was part of Pinochet’s defense in processes such as Operation Colombo, an action by the regime’s secret police to cover up the disappearance of 119 opponents, and the Riggs case, which investigated the misuse of public resources attributed to the former dictator. He was also a partner of Pablo Rodríguez Grez, cited as the founder of the Patria y Libertad movement.
When announcing the cabinet, Kast stated that the team was designed for a “emergency government”focusing on combating crime and economic recovery. “Chile needs decision, character and a government that acts quickly. That’s why today I’m presenting a cabinet for an emergency government. There’s no time to waste”he declared.
He highlighted the technical profile of the ministry. Of the 24 ministers, 16 are not members of political parties, and several come directly from the business sector. According to Kast, the composition was not the result of party negotiations. “This cabinet is not born from quotas, calculations or pressure. It is born from the conviction to always put Chile first”these. “I am not asking you for personal loyalty or loyalty to a party, but loyalty to Chile”he declared.
