Original article: El origen “sencillo” de José Kast bajo la lupa

The Controversial Background of José Kast: Debunking the ‘Humble Origin’ Narrative

With the upcoming presidential elections on the horizon, every gesture, statement, and communication cue from the candidates is crucial. This week, one of the ads from Republican candidate José Kast attracted attention, where he claimed to come from a «simple» family background. This assertion quickly raised doubts among the public and on social media. The central question then arises: Did José Kast truly come from humble beginnings?

The family background of José Kast puts his «simple origin» narrative under scrutiny. His father, Michael Kast Shindele, immigrated to Chile in 1950 after World War II and settled in Paine with his wife, Olga Rist. The family’s history has been a topic of public debate, both for their past and the socioeconomic status they achieved in the country.

Michael Kast’s entry into the National Socialist German Workers’ Party is documented in official German archives, although his family insists they are unaware of this participation. Beyond this controversy, his life in Chile was marked by rapid economic consolidation and sustained upward mobility over time.

Deeply religious and connected to the apostolic Schoenstatt movement, Michael and Olga raised their ten children in a structured environment with increasing comforts. Today, that legacy extends to dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and a family history that hardly aligns with the notion of a humble origin.

Less than a decade after their arrival, the couple opened a deli and sandwich shop on the road to the south. The business flourished and allowed for the opening of additional establishments in Talagante, Rengo, and Mostazal. This expansion led to the creation of a well-known family business, far removed from any notion of precariousness.

Prior to this success, the Kast family had ventured into various productive activities on a plot of land in Paine, experimenting with different sectors before finding a lucrative business. This journey culminated in the early 1960s with the establishment of a small sausage factory.

This pivot marked a turning point for the family project. The opening of their first location to the public and its subsequent expansion solidified a stable economic foundation, enabling sustained growth in the following years.

José Antonio Kast Rist was born in 1966 when the business was already operational and experiencing growth. Thus, beyond his parents’ initial commercial endeavors, the candidate grew up in an economically stable context, distinctly separate from a reality of hardship.

With this solid backdrop, José Kast formally joined the family business in the late 1980s while still studying law at the Catholic University. Through a transfer of shares, he became a co-owner of Cecinas Bavaria while still a student, a situation vastly different from most students who must work to fund their education or rely on scholarships to get by.

By the early 1990s, following the permanent retirement of his parents, the company was jointly owned by brothers Christian and José Kast. This period coincided with a significant increase in the business’s value and its establishment as one of the family’s main assets.

As time went on, Kast reduced his stake in the company, with his brother becoming the majority owner. By then, the business had developed an extensive network of locations, which by 2019 included restaurants, cafes, catering services, and distribution centers in various regions of the country.

The ‘Simple Origin’ Versus Elite Education

On another note, José Kast’s educational background does not reflect a humble origin either; he attended the prestigious Colegio Alemán for his primary and secondary schooling, where the current enrollment costs reach 12.50 UF, equivalent to about 495,000 pesos, with annual tuition fees of 193.22 UF, totaling 7,620,290 pesos.

This entails a monthly payment that far exceeds the current minimum wage in Chile, a figure that is unattainable for most families from humble backgrounds and reinforces doubts about the austerity narrative the candidate is attempting to project.

Moreover, his privileged education did not stop there; after completing his secondary education, José Kast went on to study law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, regarded as one of the top universities in the country and known for its significant number of students from privileged families. Presently, the tuition for that degree at the UC is $7,752,000, another amount challenging for the majority of Chileans to manage.

Between Discourse and Economic History

Upon graduating from law school at UC, Kast fully committed himself to the family business before embarking on his political career. For over a decade, he was actively involved in managing the family’s wealth, both as a partner and in executive roles.

According to a report from Capital magazine, by 2017 the primary source of income for the conglomerate was no longer from the sausage business but from real estate and hotel investments, both in Chile and abroad. This business was led by Christian Kast, with José Kast holding a minority stake.

However, the Republican’s business activities do not end there; an investigation by Interferencia revealed that for several years, he participated in debates and votes on education without disclosing his direct ties to a private school he owned.

This school is the Colegio Campanario de Buin, where Kast has been listed as the owner since 1998 through the company Inmobiliaria e Inversiones Padua, in which his wife, María Pía Adriasola, is also involved, serving on the board of the institution. In 2021, the establishment reported profits of $180 million.

In light of this information, the narrative of a «humble origin» appears, at the very least, to be a debatable construction. His family, educational, and business trajectory showcases a path marked by economic stability and access to privileged spaces from an early age.

Establishing the notion of humility is not an innocent decision during election times. It appeals to closeness with popular sectors and aims to create an emotional connection with voters.

For this reason, contrasting discourse with facts is essential for an informed debate, especially when it concerns figures who aspire to lead the country and represent realities that, in many cases, have been alien to them.