Chilean President José Antonio Kast arrived in neighboring Bolivia on Friday, marking the first state visit by a Chilean leader in more than seven decades. The visit occurs as a rightward realignment in South America reshapes long-standing regional rivalries.
Both Kast and Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz are recently elected conservatives and allies of U.S. President Donald Trump. The two leaders are working to thaw relations that have remained strained since Bolivia lost its Pacific coastline to Chile during the 19th-century War of the Pacific. As part of a broader push by Washington to build security partnerships with like-minded leaders in Latin America, both governments have joined the U.S.-led “Shield of the Americas” coalition against drug trafficking.
While the two nations maintain consulates and cooperate on trade and immigration, they have not held ambassador-level relations since 1978. Officials confirmed that restoring full diplomatic ties was not on the agenda for this visit. Bolivian Minister of the Presidency Fernando Aramayo stated, “It’s too early. There’s a path to work on to change the approach to relations, and it will take time. It’s about signing mutually beneficial agreements.”
Kast acknowledged the historic nature of the trip on X, writing, “Today, after 71 years, a president of Chile returns on an official visit to La Paz. Let’s begin to build the future of our nations together.”
The diplomatic engagement comes as President Paz faces domestic protests over his decision to scrap fuel subsidies. Bolivia, which once exported natural gas to its neighbors, is currently struggling with declining hydrocarbon production and fuel shortages. Cooperation remains a practical necessity for both nations; landlocked since the 1879-84 War of the Pacific, Bolivia sends approximately 70% of its foreign trade through ports in northern Chile. In return, Paz has offered Chile access to the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, which connects Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean.
Bolivia’s long-standing demand for a land corridor to the Pacific—a cause that defined the foreign policy of former President Evo Morales—was absent from Friday’s agenda. Under Morales, Bolivia unsuccessfully took the claim to the International Court of Justice in 2018. Morales, now a fierce critic of Paz, described the omission as “an affront to historical memory.” Minister Aramayo noted that the government has not abandoned the claim but said they needed to “create the conditions to work on this matter.”
