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Protests and truckers' blockade push Chile's Kast to send bill reversing fuel price rises

5h

Summary

  • Chile's far-right president José Antonio Kast, elected in December 2025, faces protests over the cost of living, education cuts, and reduced sentences for offenders.
  • In October 2026 it was revealed his government had signed decrees cutting the sentences of 56 prisoners, from child rape to dictatorship-era human rights violations.
  • In July 2026 the government skipped an anti-inflation tool; fuel prices later shot up overnight, with motorists queuing at gas stations before a planned rise.
  • Chile's truckers' unions blockaded two major highways until the government sent congress a bill reversing planned fuel price rises on 13 November 2026.
  • Kast's approval stands at 24%, and his budget proposal with cuts to education, culture, science and social programs is making its way through congress.

Reactions

  • Chile's president José Antonio Kast admitted signing the sentence-cutting decrees was an 'error' but came out in support of the undersecretary who signed them.
  • Truckers' unions blockaded two major highways in the week before 14 November 2026 to pressure the government over high fuel prices.
  • Simón Echavarría, an architect, said at a 13 November march in Santiago that salaries are maybe 20% of a European income with a similar cost of living.
  • Patricia Pereira, a veterinarian at the march, said her discontent runs deeper than science funding cuts, calling free education a hard-won victory now in question.
  • The bill reversing planned fuel price rises is expected to be approved by Chile's congress in November 2026.
  • Protests in Santiago are forecast to grow if the government fails to address the rising cost of living.

Timeline newest first

  1. On 13 November 2026, Chile's truckers' strike ended after President José Antonio Kast's government sent congress a bill reversing planned fuel price rises.
  2. On 12 November 2026, truck drivers protested rising fuel prices and operating costs on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile.
  3. In the week before 14 November 2026, Chile's truckers' unions blockaded two major highways to pressure the government over high fuel prices.
  4. On 5 November 2026, police used water cannons to disperse students in Santiago protesting education policies, rising living costs and reduced sentences for sexual offenses against minors.
  5. Protests exploded as fuel prices shot up overnight, and motorists joined long queues at gas stations in Chile before the rise took effect.
  6. In October 2026 it was revealed that Kast's government had signed decrees cutting the sentences of 56 prisoners, from child rape to dictatorship-era human rights violations.
  7. In July 2026, Kast's government chose not to apply an anti-inflation tool that could have eased fuel price rises brought by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Sources newest first

  • Fuel crisis and protests pressure Chile's far-right presidentnpr.org· 5h

    NPR reports that Chile's far-right president José Antonio Kast, whose government cut sentences for 56 prisoners including child rapists and skipped an anti-inflation tool as fuel prices spiked, faces protests and a truckers' blockade that ended only after he sent Congress a bill reversing planned fuel price rises. The article says Kast, at 24% approval, is floundering as cost-of-living anger grows, with similar discontent challenging Trump-aligned leaders like Javier Milei and Keiko Fujimori.