— President José Antonio Kast’s approval fell to 33.3% with 53.3% disapproval in the Pulso Ciudadano poll released April 19 — down from 59% at inauguration on March 11, making this the steepest first-month decline of any Chilean president in modern polling history
— The collapse was driven by a historic fuel price hike (gasoline up 32%, diesel up 62%) caused by the Iran war’s impact on global oil prices, which triggered cacerolazos in Santiago, Concepción, and Antofagasta — the first sustained street protests since the 2019 estallido social
— Additional damage came from a Contraloría investigation into a private dinner Kast held with 70 former university classmates at La Moneda palace, education budget cuts that provoked student marches, and a cabinet that scores only 27% approval with 59.5% disapproval
The Rio Times, the Latin American financial news outlet, reports that the Kast approval Chile trajectory represents one of the most dramatic presidential collapses in Latin American democratic history. Elected with nearly 60% of the vote in December 2025 on promises to fight organized crime, deport irregular migrants, and shrink the state, José Antonio Kast has instead spent his first 40 days firefighting a fuel crisis he did not cause, street protests he did not expect, and a self-inflicted scandal involving a private dinner at the presidential palace.
The Pulso Ciudadano poll, conducted by Activa Research between April 15-17 and released Sunday, shows approval at 33.3% (down 1.4 points from the previous measurement) and disapproval at 53.3% (up 4.6 points) — a new record high for disapproval since Kast took office on March 11. Only 24.6% of Chileans say they have “much or total confidence” in the president, down from 36% when he was president-elect in December.
What’s Driving the Kast Approval Chile Freefall
Chile depends almost entirely on imported petroleum, making it uniquely vulnerable to the Hormuz oil shock. When the government announced the fuel price adjustment on March 23 — gasoline up 32%, diesel up 62% — gas stations reported five times normal demand as Chileans panic-filled their tanks, and within 48 hours cacerolazos erupted across Santiago, Concepción, and Antofagasta. The banging of pots and pans — Chile’s signature protest form since the Pinochet era — had not been heard at this scale since the 2019 estallido social.
Chile’s fuel pricing mechanism (MEPCO) is designed to smooth price shocks by lending the difference to consumers during price spikes and recovering the subsidy when prices fall. But the Iran war’s sustained disruption overwhelmed the mechanism, forcing the government to pass the full cost through to consumers. A 94% majority of Chileans now perceive that prices have risen significantly in the last six months, and 43% believe the economy will worsen in the next six — up from 23% in March.
The Palace Dinner and the Student Marches
The fuel crisis alone would have damaged any government, but Kast compounded the problem with an unforced error: hosting approximately 70 former law school classmates for a private dinner at La Moneda while Chileans struggled with the highest fuel prices in the country’s history. The Contraloría — Chile’s independent comptroller — opened an investigation into the financing and purpose of the event, and 46.5% of Chileans consider the dinner “serious or very serious” according to Pulso Ciudadano. Nearly half (47.4%) oppose using La Moneda for private social events.
Thousands of high school and university students marched in central Santiago to protest education budget cuts and a government proposal to deny tuition-free university access to students convicted of campus violence. The education minister, María Paz Arzola, now carries a 40.2% negative evaluation — the third-worst in the cabinet. Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz, architect of the fiscal response to the fuel crisis, is second-worst at 43.7% negative.
The Cadena Nacional That Competed With Cacerolazos
On April 15, Kast used a cadena nacional — a mandatory broadcast across all channels — to announce his 40-measure “National Reconstruction Plan.” The package includes cutting the corporate tax from 27% to 23%, deregulating environmental impact studies, incentivizing formal employment, and capping public spending. The plan was delivered via pre-recorded video from La Moneda while cacerolazos played live in the background across Santiago — an image that instantly defined the disconnect between the government’s messaging and the street’s reality.
The public is divided on the reconstruction plan: 32.7% support it, 35.4% oppose it, and 31.8% remain neutral. The government’s communications team attempted to blame the fuel crisis on the Boric administration by publishing social media graphics claiming they inherited “a state in bankruptcy” — which were then deleted after public backlash. For a president who won the largest mandate in modern Chilean history just four months ago, the speed of the deterioration raises a question that his recent diplomatic moves cannot answer: whether the right-wing wave that swept Latin America in 2024-2025 can survive governing during the oil war it didn’t anticipate.