Original article: “José Antonio Kast no es el camino para Chile”: la frase de Piñera que hoy deja en jaque a su propia familia

Sebastián Piñera’s 2018 Warning Against José Antonio Kast Resurfaces as Family Backs Presidential Candidate

On December 20, 2018, Sebastián Piñera publicly drew a line against José Antonio Kast’s leadership. In an interview with Mega news, the then-President firmly stated: “It is true that in the last election [José Antonio Kast] received around 8 percent of the vote, but I believe that is not the path for Chile.” Now, nearly seven years after that declaration, part of Piñera’s own family is openly supporting Kast’s presidential candidacy “unconditionally,” highlighting the internal divisions within Piñera’s political circle regarding Kast’s agenda.

The shift is notable. In 2018, Piñera not only distanced himself but did so in alignment with his wife Cecilia Morel, who had recently expressed in La Tercera: “I feel that José Antonio represents a sensitivity that I wouldn’t want to see grow.” When interviewed by Mega, Piñera concluded, “Once again, I agree with my wife,” further emphasizing that his political identity was about “dialogue, collaboration, and the pursuit of agreements … Our Government and Chile Vamos are a center-right government, away from extremes.”

Piñera expressed his agreement with his wife, Cecilia Morel, regarding the desire to prevent the growing influence of the sensitivity represented by José Antonio Kast #SomosCooperativa pic.twitter.com/JdOrN7Q7QU

— Cooperativa (@Cooperativa) December 21, 2018

Fast forward to November 24, 2025, the situation has changed significantly. The Piñera-Morel family met with José Antonio Kast and his wife, María Pía Adriasola, and emerged from the meeting reaffirming their unqualified support for the Republican candidate. Magdalena Piñera, daughter of the late former president, stated that they support Kast “out of conviction” and have “no doubt” that “the political opponent is a candidate from the Communist Party.”

“We know that communism has not brought progress or democracy to any of the countries where it has been present. So today, we are supporting José Antonio Kast out of conviction and hope he wins,” asserted Magdalena Piñera, publicly sealing the family’s support for the Republican candidate.

When Piñera Distanced Himself from Kast

The December 2018 interview was not an offhand comment. Piñera used that television appearance to explicitly draw a political boundary against Kast’s agenda, which at the time had just emerged with around 8% in the presidential election.

“I believe that is not the path for Chile,” Piñera remarked, recalling the electoral outcome of the far-right leader. This statement was not merely a programmatic contrast. By backing Cecilia Morel’s concerns—who had warned against allowing Kast’s represented sensitivity to “grow further”—Piñera deliberately placed himself on a different trajectory from the then-deputy of the UDI, clearly indicating that his coalition model did not include the radicalization of discourse or a return to extremism.

From Distrust to Unconditional Support

The tone in 2025 is markedly different. The Piñera-Morel family not only welcomed Kast but did so while clarifying any ambiguity. Following the meeting with the Republican candidate and María Pía Adriasola, Magdalena Piñera described the encounter as “very friendly” and highlighted that her mother and Kast’s wife spoke about the role of the First Lady and social work related to education, a sensitive topic for the family clan.

However, the political point came afterward. Magdalena Piñera emphasized that there is “no doubt” about who the opponent is in this election: a candidate from the Communist Party. Based on that, she justified the family’s support for Kast: “Today, we are supporting José Antonio Kast out of conviction and hope he wins.”

This “unconditional” support starkly contrasts with Sebastián Piñera’s statement in 2018, when he warned that Kast’s project “is not the path for Chile” and advocated for a center-right approach distancing itself from ideological extremes.

Ultimately, this scenario uncovers an uncomfortable tension: while Sebastián Piñera’s political figure is being reaffirmed in current public debate, a part of his family now aligns with the same leadership that the former president considered, during his lifetime, a risk for the radicalization of the Chilean right.