No more meetings with the other parties, only with La Moneda: the strained relationship of the libertarians with the government

Following the meeting held this Tuesday night at the Cerro Castillo Presidential Palace with the ruling parties to present the Budget bill, the National Libertarian Party made a decision. Because they had been invited to the presidential headquarters in Viña del Mar, the party led by Johannes Kaiser notified the government that they would not attend and that, from now on, they will not go to any meeting with the Executive in which the other forces supporting President José Antonio Kast's government are present. The reason? They do not want to be lumped in with the other parties that are indeed part of the ruling coalition, so as not to be treated as such. "The President invited us, but in a different setting, because yesterday, as I understand it, it was the ruling party caucuses, and we are not part of the ruling coalition," explained the deputy chief of the chamber of deputies' caucus, Paulina Muñoz.01-07-2026 PAULINA MUÑOZ PHOTO: PEDRO RODRIGUEZ PEDRO RODRIGUEZ That is why they will also stop attending the coordination meetings that the parliamentary caucuses hold on Mondays with the General Secretariat of the Presidency (Segpres) at La Moneda. Their attendance at these talks was only on two occasions: last Monday — which was the first time they went — and this week. However, the party — which at the start of the government defined itself as "friendly opposition" — will no longer attend the Palace for that instance. In any case, the deputy assures that "depending on the topics that interest us or that we believe we should truly be coordinated with the government on, we will be there, but if not, we won't." Thus, according to what is being relayed within the party, a coordination meeting with the government is already scheduled for next week, to be held at Cerro Castillo. The elusive votes in CongressAs for the legislative relationship they have maintained in Congress, the deputy chief of the caucus states: "I understand that the ruling coalition needs the support of the National Libertarian Party and can count on its votes, but we are not part of the ruling coalition." "That was a political agreement made at the start of the President's term, and it is good to keep the instances separate; it is not good to stir the soup with those who are not in it," she adds. In votes in the Chamber, although they have behaved as part of the ruling coalition throughout the legislative term, on certain security bills the PNL has distanced itself. The bill that generated the greatest tension was the anti-barricade bill, in which deputy Gloria Naveillán signed an amendment with Raúl Leiva (PS) to allow peaceful demonstrations to take place, which was subsequently ratified on the floor and left the Executive unsatisfied. This week, moreover, in the bill creating the Registry of Vandalic Acts, deputy Muñoz — substituting for Naveillán — voted against the article establishing the competencies of the guarantee courts, forcing La Moneda to reinstate that provision when the initiative goes to the floor. This Tuesday, in turn, several libertarians distanced themselves from the agreement the government had reached with the PDG on the bill compensating for the purchase of diapers. The party's vice president, deputy Hans Marowski, was one of those who abstained in the vote. The episode this Tuesday in the Senate, in which the chamber's leadership decided to postpone the discussion of the false accusations bill presented by Senator Vanessa Kaiser (PNL), is another event that, they stress within the party, will be remembered when it comes to future votes in the Upper Chamber. "A vote in the Senate is important," they warn, under condition of anonymity, from the senator's circle.4 AUGUST 2026 PORTRAIT OF SENATOR VANESSA KAISER. PHOTO: DEDVI MISSENE Dedvi Missene "Loyal opposition"At the start of the current government, the president of the PNL, Johannes Kaiser, stated that his party would be a "loyal opposition" to Kast. This, with the aim of maintaining the balance of not being part of the ruling coalition — since they rejected being part of the Executive — while at the same time collaborating to advance its legislative agenda. In that context, they have not hesitated to call out the government to push for the agendas they are pursuing, particularly the pardons for former uniformed personnel convicted both for crimes during the dictatorship and for those committed during the social unrest. Navigating those two lanes, the deputies had already gone to the Cerro Castillo presidential palace to ask precisely that President Kast carry out that presidential power.