Chile¡¯s new president, Jose Antonio Kast, signed decrees to ramp up border security, audit spending and cut red tape before delivering a tightly scripted inaugural speech on Wednesday night, underscoring his priorities at the helm of Latin America¡¯s most prosperous nation.
¡°We have been given a country that¡¯s in worse shape than we could have imagined,¡± the archconservative said after his swearing in earlier in the day in the coastal city of Valparaiso. ¡°We have the opportunity to start a new era for Chile, an era of order, freedom and justice.¡±
After breaking with tradition by issuing a half dozen decrees ahead of his speech, Kast emerged onto the balcony of the presidential palace in downtown Santiago, reiterating plans for an ¡°emergency government¡± focused on fighting crime and irregular migration while reviving the economy.
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