Johannes Kaiser, the presidential candidate of the Partido Nacional Libertario, promised to close the border with Bolivia at a campaign event in Osorno. He stressed drastic measures against what he called humiliations by the neighboring country, including a warning about renaming its capital. The statements are part of his security plan for the 2025 elections.
At a campaign event on Tuesday in Osorno, Los Lagos Region, Johannes Kaiser, the presidential standard-bearer of the Partido Nacional Libertario (PNL) and deputy, outlined his security plan. Before his supporters, he assured that if he reaches La Moneda, “we are going to close the border with Bolivia”. Kaiser harshly criticized the neighboring country, stating: “The ‘little joke’ from Bolivia is over. In Bolivia, they will never auction a Chilean car again. And if they do it again, if they humiliate us in that way, I can assure you that in La Paz they will have a very bad time and they will have to change the name of the capital, because La Paz will not be”.
These words add to the candidate's previous statements. On October 20 in Concepción, Biobío Region, Kaiser warned Bolivia's president-elect Rodrigo Paz about the need for collaboration on border control. “To the extent that Bolivia does not control or help with border control, does not receive back the people it lets pass through its territory to our country, we will reduce those franchises that go beyond the Treaty of Ancón, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Bolivia, to zero”, he declared. He added: “And if necessary, we will take charge of the rest of the treaty's provisions. We will not allow smuggling to continue entering impunity from Bolivia, human trafficking to continue. We will not allow a black hole of criminality to occur on our border with Bolivia, and for Bolivia, moreover, to use the weapon of mass immigration to destabilize us”.
The context includes historical tensions between Chile and Bolivia, governed by treaties such as Ancón (1883) and Peace and Friendship (1904). Kaiser's promises stand out in the 2025 election campaign, focused on security and immigration issues.