Brazil & Southern Cone - October 2026

In Santiago and other major cities, environmental activists have carried out demonstrations to criticise the right-wing government of President José Antonio Kast for what they consider to be environmental setbacks. After Kast took office in March, he withdrew environmental decrees that were pending review, which prompted backlash from environmental groups. In August, NGOs such as Greenpeace continued to campaign and pile pressure on the Kast government to resubmit these environmental measures.

In a series of demonstrations dubbed the ‘National March against Environmental Setbacks and for Animals’, environmental groups staged protests on 22 August. According to a press release by the Chilean branch of Greenpeace, members and volunteers from the NGO also took part in the demonstration and reiterated the organisation’s calls for Kast to reinstate the environmental measures from the previous administration of left-wing former president Gabriel Boric (2022-2026).

Greenpeace has highlighted that Kast withdrew 43 decrees in March which were being processed by the office of the comptroller general. By withdrawing the decrees, Kast effectively halted the implementation of measures such as new regulations for national parks, marine protection zones, and programmes for pollution reduction and biodiversity conservation, among other environmental policies. As of 22 August, Greenpeace said that only eight decrees had been resubmitted to the comptroller’s office, with 35 still pending.  

Just two days after the demonstrations, Greenpeace released another statement on 24 August about its new campaign ‘Not one step back’, which aims to rally public support in defence of Chile’s record of upholding environmental standards. The statement warned that “Chile is experiencing a period of severe environmental regression, marked by initiatives aimed at relaxing standards and accelerating investment projects”. It listed specific concerns such as the delayed implementation of a biodiversity protection service, the loosening of rules such as the 2020 urban wetlands law, and the environmental impact of the Kast administration’s flagship economic mega reform, which passed congress in early August.

The mega reform, known as the ‘reconstruction and economic and social development bill’, contains pro-business measures such as reducing taxes and deregulating the economy. On 12 August environmental groups such as Greenpeace, Fundación Terram, Fiscalía del Medio Ambiente (Fima), and Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (Aida), presented their objections to provisions contained in the mega reform before Chile’s constitutional court (TC).

The NGOs warned that some sections of the legislation could restrict access to justice and give extra benefits to certain sectors such as the salmon farming industry. A particular provision of the mega reform that was highlighted by the environmental groups was a regulatory update that allows salmon producers to re-locate their farms by up to 350 metres without the need to officially submit an environmental assessment.

Kast’s push to incentivise growth and investment comes as the first six months of his presidency were marked by declines in economic activity. Under pressure to kickstart the country’s economy, it is unlikely that Kast’s government will halt its efforts to loosen regulations and increase investment in key sectors such as agriculture and the extractive industries. 

UNGA speech

Kast has not been known to be as vocal a climate sceptic as compared to other international far-right leaders, and his speech on 22 September at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) included comments about the importance protecting the environment and supporting the energy transition. However, his speech also hailed his government’s achievement of making Chile a country with “less bureaucracy”, highlighting that in his first six months in office, the government had unclogged the investment pipeline and seen more projects gain approval through the environmental regulation system.