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Chile’s Conservative Candidate Kast Builds Out Economic Team

Chile’s Conservative Candidate Kast Builds Out Economic Team

Chile’s conservative presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast expanded his team of economic advisers, including one from a center-right rival he beat in Sunday’s election, as he seeks to broaden his business credentials ahead of the runoff next month.

Key policy goals such as lowering taxes will be done “in accordance with reality,” Kast said in a press conference. Foreign investors must go back to seeing Chile as a responsible country with a promising future, he said on Thursday.

Chile’s Conservative Candidate Kast Builds Out Economic Team

Here are Kast’s main advisers:

Name

Background

Sebastian ClaroFormer central bank board member
Jose Luis DazaFounder of QFR Capital Management
Sylvia EyzaguirreResearcher at Centro de Estudios Publicos
Patricio RojasEconomist and former adviser to Sebastian Sichel
Cecilia CifuentesProfessor at Universidad de Los Andes 
Soledad ArellanoProfessor at Universidad Adolfo Ibanez
Eduardo GuerreroPartner and director at Primus Capital
Claudio LucarelliProfessor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Kast topped the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, and will face off against former student protest leader Gabriel Boric in a highly polarized runoff on Dec. 19. A trained lawyer and former lawmaker, Kast backs lower taxes, a smaller government and free enterprise. By contrast, Boric pledges higher levies, better public services and more equality.

On Thursday, Kast also said he is considering economic proposals from government coalition parties and that his program is “not set in stone.” 

Both Kast and Boric are rushing to secure endorsements while also adding on to their teams. This week, Boric included former central bank President Roberto Zahler and professor Andrea Repetto among his economic advisers.

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