Chile's new president has praised Pinochet, a dictator. What does it mean?

"For critics, the crest was another expression of Kast's professed affinity for the former hardline leader. But as Kast is sworn into office on Wednesday, analysts question whether his embrace of Pinochet is nostalgia for Latin America's past dictatorships or whether it is simply a sign of frustration with the status quo."

"Maria Fernanda Garcia, the director of Chile's Museum of Memory and Human Rights, noted that, around the world, there appears to be a shift towards more hardline policies. She credits a crisis of democracy with helping to turn a past that was full of horror in many parts of the world into something that is glorified by people who didn't live through it."

"Rebellion these days is not against war or dictatorships, but the rebellion is against that which is established, Garcia said. And the established is democracy, respect for human rights."

Jose Antonio Kast, Chile's newly inaugurated president, displayed a coat of arms on his presidential sash in his official portrait—a symbol unused by any president since Augusto Pinochet's fall in 1990. This gesture sparked debate about whether Kast's Pinochet affinity represents nostalgia for past dictatorships or frustration with current conditions. Analysts note a global shift toward hardline policies, with democracy itself becoming viewed as the establishment to rebel against. Museum director Maria Fernanda Garcia attributes this trend to a crisis of democracy, where younger generations, influenced by social media narratives, glorify historical horrors they never experienced. Kast won December's election with over 58 percent of the vote, the largest tally in Chilean history.

Read at www.aljazeera.com