Chile Grills a Foreign Minister for the First Time, With a US Pact in Focus
CHILE · POLITICS · FOREIGN POLICY
Key Facts
- —The country Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, and China is its biggest customer. José Antonio Kast, a hard-right president, has governed since 11 March 2026.
- —The background A third of the 155-member Chamber of Deputies can summon a minister for public questioning, an interpelación. It has been used 33 times since 2005, never on a foreign minister.
- —Why now On 22 September Kast took Chile into the US-led Shield of the Americas, an anti-crime coalition. Its text also covers critical minerals and investment screening, which critics read as aimed at China.
- —What happened The Chamber voted 57 to 49 on 8 September to summon Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna. He faces deputies today, Monday 28 September, from 3 p.m. Santiago time (18:00 GMT).
- —Who is who Nelson Venegas, a Socialist deputy, asks the questions. Pérez Mackenna, a former business executive, has run the ministry since March with Kast’s public backing.
- —What it means for you Nothing changes today for residents or travellers. Investors in Chilean copper and lithium should watch what he says Chile promised on minerals and investment screening.
- —Still open Whether the Shield counts as a treaty that needs Congress’s approval. The Senate has called three ministers to a session on it on 7 October.
Chile’s foreign minister, Francisco Pérez Mackenna, goes before the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, at 3 p.m. on Monday. He is the first foreign minister summoned to a formal public questioning since the procedure entered the constitution in 2005.
The opposition called the session over a string of disputes with Argentina and the United States. President José Antonio Kast’s decision last week to join the US-led Shield of the Americas has since become its centrepiece.
What an interpelación is
Under Article 52 of Chile’s constitution, a third of the deputies can summon a minister to answer questions on his portfolio. The minister must attend, but the session carries no vote of confidence.
The tool has been used 33 times since 2005, according to the Spanish news agency EFE. Health and interior ministers account for 16, roughly half.
The Chamber approved this one on 8 September by 57 votes to 49, with one abstention. The request carried 59 opposition signatures.
It was led by Nelson Venegas of the Socialist Party, who sits on the foreign affairs committee.
It is also the first interpelación of any minister in Kast’s six-month-old government.
Why the Shield of the Americas moved to the centre
The Shield of the Americas, or Escudo de las Américas, is a coalition against transnational organised crime. US President Donald Trump launched it in March 2026.
Chile moved from observer to full member on 22 September, at a coalition meeting in New York beside the UN General Assembly. The switch came eight days after Kast had called Chile only an observer.
The government presented it as police and intelligence cooperation. The joint declaration published by the US State Department also covers screening foreign investment, critical-mineral supply chains and “trusted” digital suppliers.
Critics read those clauses as aimed at China, which buys over 40 percent of Chile’s exports, the newspaper La Tercera says. Former foreign minister Ignacio Walker told Radio Cooperativa the minerals and digital clauses were aimed at “China, not the cartels”.
La Tercera, citing foreign ministry sources, reported that Chile was the only member to ask for changes to the US draft. It says Santiago added wording that measures apply “in a non-discriminatory way” and in line with each country’s legal obligations.
What the opposition accuses him of
Venegas has called Pérez Mackenna’s handling of foreign policy “pusillanimous and ambiguous” and accused him of failing to defend Chile’s interests. After the Shield signing he said citizens had a right to know “in Spanish” what Chile had signed.
The Broad Front, a left-wing opposition party, called joining the Shield “an act of submission”. Former presidents Michelle Bachelet and Gabriel Boric have asked Kast to reconsider.
The original spark was Argentina. In late August a senior Argentine air force officer said the Strait of Magellan formed part of Argentina’s “sovereignty”.
Chile holds the strait under treaties of 1881 and 1984. Critics called the foreign ministry’s reply weak.
The 13-point questionnaire also covers the 12.5 percent US tariff on Chilean goods. It adds US Ambassador Brandon Judd’s remark that the “Donroe doctrine” was “easier to implement” under Kast.
Deputies will ask why Chile left the Non-Aligned Movement in August after 55 years. They will also ask why it withdrew support for Bachelet’s since-abandoned bid to lead the UN.
Remarks on Chile’s Palestinian community by its ambassador to Israel, Gabriel Zaliasnik, are also on the list.
The list was drawn up before Defence Minister Fernando Barros said Britain had held the Falklands for 200 years. Those remarks are not among the 13 topics, though they touch the same Argentine file.
How the government defends him
Kast said from New York that his minister “has my full backing” and that questioning him was the deputies’ “legitimate right”. He said he hoped for a “constructive” session.
Pérez Mackenna has said there is “no subordination” in the Shield. It “has nothing to do with the use of military forces”, he added.
The government rules out US military operations on Chilean soil.
Claudio Alvarado, who runs both the interior ministry and the government’s communications, promised “clear, objective” answers. He warned that some could only be given later, in closed sessions of the foreign affairs committee.
The hard-right National Libertarian Party, part of Kast’s bloc, wanted the session held behind closed doors. National Renewal, a centre-right government party, refused, and the questioning will be public.
What comes next
Venegas asks, the minister answers, and the session ends without a vote. Removing a minister needs a separate procedure, a constitutional accusation, which the Chamber must approve and the Senate then try.
The Senate has called Pérez Mackenna, Barros and Security Minister Martín Arrau to a special session on 7 October.
Senate president Paulina Núñez says that if the Shield is a treaty, Congress must ratify it. The government says it is not one.
Today’s session does not change Chile’s membership of the Shield or bring US troops to Chile. Nor is it a sign that Pérez Mackenna is about to go: Kast has backed him in public.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an interpelación in Chile?
It is a public questioning of a cabinet minister by the Chamber of Deputies, requested by at least a third of its members. The minister must attend and answer, but no vote follows. It has been used 33 times since 2005, and never before on a foreign minister.
Can Chile’s Congress remove the foreign minister after this session?
No. The questioning is not binding and cannot remove him. Removing a minister requires a separate constitutional accusation, approved by the Chamber of Deputies and then tried by the Senate.
What is the Shield of the Americas?
It is a US-led coalition against transnational organised crime that President Donald Trump launched in March 2026. Chile became a full member on 22 September. Its joint declaration also covers critical minerals, investment screening and digital infrastructure.
Does this affect foreigners living in or investing in Chile?
Not directly. No visa, tax or residency rule changes. Investors in copper, lithium or digital infrastructure should watch what Chile says it committed to on investment screening and mineral supply chains.
Sources: EFE, historic interpellation of the foreign minister, 28 September 2026, La Tercera, the issues he must answer, 27 September 2026, La Tercera, how Chile negotiated its Shield membership, 27 September 2026, La Tercera, Chamber approves the interpellation, 8 September 2026, El Mostrador, the 13 topics, 8 September 2026, ADN Radio, session time and format, 27 September 2026, EFE via Infobae, Shield added to the questioning, 23 September 2026, El Desconcierto, Kast backs his minister, September 2026, Radio Cooperativa, government promises clear answers, 27 September 2026, El Mostrador, Senate special session on 7 October, 24 September 2026, Constitution of Chile, Article 52. All retrieved 28 September 2026.
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