President José Antonio Kast faced sharp criticism from opposition lawmakers after stating that his campaign pledge to expel 300,000 migrants on his first day in office was a metaphor. The remarks came during the opening of Construction Week.
Kast made the comments during the opening of Construction Week, marking the 75th anniversary of the Chilean Chamber of Construction. He addressed criticism over slow progress on migration issues and clarified that it was impossible to expel 300,000 people in a single day.
Senators from various opposition parties reacted immediately. Iván Flores of the Christian Democrats said governance is not done with metaphors and noted that the only expulsion carried out so far had been prepared by the previous administration. Fabiola Campillai stated outright that lying is not a metaphor.
Lawmakers from the Socialist Party and the Broad Front, including Daniella Cicardini, Danisa Astudillo, Diego Ibáñez and Gael Yeomans, challenged the president's explanation. They accused Kast of using the promise to win votes and demanded concrete results instead of rhetorical figures.
