Former government spokesperson Minister Camila Vallejo, a member of the Communist Party (PC), delivered a harsh assessment of the first seven months of José Antonio Kast's government. In an interview with The Clinic, published on October 11, she accused the executive branch of failing to keep its campaign promises.
"Candidate Kast would ask President Kast to resign today, because he has not fulfilled anything he promised," Vallejo said, as reported by CNN Chile. It was her first interview with a print outlet since leaving La Moneda.
The economy was the focus of her criticism. Vallejo questioned the government's budget decisions and said there was a disconnect between those measures and people's needs. On employment and growth, she was categorical: "you cannot keep blaming the previous government".
The former minister also criticized adjustments to the 2027 Budget. She mentioned the elimination of funding for the Yo Elijo mi PC program, which provides computers to students, and changes to other social spending items. In her view, "making government spending more efficient" should not mean cutting benefits.
Vallejo described the government as "far-right" and "classist." She said that "Pinochetism has come to power," although she maintained that this sector "is not a majority" in the country, despite Kast having a parliamentary majority. She also criticized the president's alignment with US President Donald Trump's agenda toward Latin America.
The interview also addressed the opposition's future. Vallejo welcomed Michelle Bachelet's continued willingness to participate in political debate. She suggested that the former president could play a unifying role among progressives, although a possible third presidential candidacy was a matter for a later stage.
The former spokesperson also offered a self-critical assessment of the left. She argued that progressives had reacted late to the far right's advance, particularly on social media and in digital spaces. "The far right read Gramsci better than the left," she said, referring to Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci and his idea of cultural struggle.
The available sources do not include a response from the government or the governing parties to these criticisms. Vallejo, meanwhile, is traveling to Mexico today, invited by Claudia Sheinbaum's government to the "International Seminar: Progressivism in the Face of the Far Right". The PC, for its part, is preparing its National Conference.
