“José Antonio Kast and Peru”, by Farid Kahhat

A common misconception when judging the contemporary radical right is to believe that parties of that ideological orientation are natural allies.

In reality, his is a tactical alliance against common rivals: liberal “globalism”, the European Union, Islamism and the left in all its variants.

But they share a rivalry with them precisely because of the transnational nature of their convocation, as opposed to the national sovereignty that the radical right claims as a supreme value. And the historical rival of virtually all nationalism is usually another nationalism.

Thus, for example, Trump’s protectionism did not stop at his ideological affinities with Bolsonaro (highlighted by his former Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo), announcing in 2019 punitive tariffs against steel and aluminum imports from Brazil. Matteo Salvini (leader of the Italian radical right) agrees with his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, in the defense of national sovereignty against the primacy of community law promoted by the European Union.

But, simultaneously, both were rivals when the need to resettle refugees in Europe was debated (Italy was the main receiving country for immigrants seeking refugee status, but the Hungarian Government refused to receive any of them). And Russian and Ukrainian nationalists tend to share a radical right-wing ideology, but that doesn’t stop them from seeing each other as irreconcilable enemies.

I mention the above because we are on the verge of witnessing a reissue of that misunderstanding in Peru. If you are a Peruvian conservative who expresses sympathy for the candidacy of Jose Antonio Kast on Chile, I warn you that this one will not return the favor.

In the government plan of his party, for example, under the heading “Let’s recover Chile: plan to stop the illegal migrant invasion”, the following is explicitly stated:

“Demand the governments of Bolivia, Peru and Argentina to reinforce their borders and take charge of the caravans of illegal migrants that come from their territories and that end up in Chile due to their negligence and lack of control”. And, if necessary, Kast himself confirms that position through this tweet: “Bolivia, Peru and Argentina wash their hands. Neighboring countries have to stop the caravans of illegal immigrants, migrant invasion.”

You may not remember seeing images of these “caravans of illegal immigrants” entering Chile from Peru. And he didn’t see them because they never existed: the immigrants he talks about closet they entered Chile from Bolivia. You will then wonder what Peru has to do with it.

Let the own closet explain it: in statements collected by CNN Chile, it indicates that “These people pass through their territories coming to Chile and having to be detained on the border of Peru with Ecuador, or on the border of Peru with Bolivia”.

In other words, it intends to educate us about our alleged negligence in guarding our borders, not with Chile, but with Bolivia and Ecuador, and it does so without providing evidence that such negligence exists.

In those same statements, closet  proposed building a ditch in parts of the border with Bolivia: if we know anything about the construction of physical obstacles on the borders, it is that they tend to divert the flow of immigrants towards new routes.

But, instead of admitting the failure of the initiative, it is likely that this fact becomes an argument to expand these constructions to other border areas.

By the way, closet is, together with leaders of the Peruvian parties Fuerza Popular, Avanza País and Renovación Popular, one of the signatories of the Madrid Charter, a document promoted by the Spanish Vox party (whose main leader literally maintains that the conquerors “put an end to the indigenous genocide ”, bringing with it“ the empire of human rights ”).