Ayuso awards Chile's president José Antonio Kast Madrid's International Medal

The medal and the ceremony

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, gave José Antonio Kast the Medalla Internacional de la Comunidad de Madrid on Monday, 2 November, at the Real Casa de Correos, the regional government's seat. According to EL PAÍS, the two presidents first met for about 20 minutes before a sober ceremony. In her speech Ayuso linked the award to security and to Kast's early months in office, which began in March. She said he had placed security, order and a commitment to children at the centre of his government. Kast, in turn, told the audience that security is the first duty of the state and that Chile is back in the world.

“Without security there is no freedom, and without freedom there is no lasting prosperity.”

Trade, history and the Boric contrast

Ayuso said Chile had once become one of the most powerful economies in the world when private initiative was allowed to develop, and that Kast was taking back that path. She said the aim was to return Chile to the prominence it deserves among the large nations of the continent. EL PAÍS reported that she set this against the record of former president Gabriel Boric. Ayuso also cited investment figures: Madrid receives nearly 60% of Chilean investment in Spain, while almost 90% of Spanish investment in Chile comes from the Community. She named the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime as a challenge the president had taken on.

“For us, Chile is a key ally, a strategic partner and, above all, a sister nation.”

Other recipients and the medal list

The medal is granted on the regional president's personal initiative, and Kast becomes the fifth Latin American leader to receive it, according to EL PAÍS. Earlier recipients include Argentina's Javier Milei, who received it in 2024, and Venezuelan figures Edmundo González and Juan Guaidó. Ayuso described the group as figures who differ in circumstances but share a defence of freedom and of peoples' right to decide their future. Ecuador's president was also among the names she listed. Kast's visit is part of his first trip to Europe since taking office in March.

Abascal and the political reaction

Vox leader Santiago Abascal met Kast in Madrid the same day and called him a friend and ally. Abascal posted photographs on X with Kast and his wife, Pía Adriasola, saying the two couples had been friends and allies for years. He described it as his first meeting with Kast since the Chilean took office. Abascal said he had missed the inauguration because of the Castilla y León election campaign, and he had not attended the Madrid Forum meeting. Kast hosted the fifth regional meeting of the Madrid Forum in September, an initiative backed by Vox to counter the left in Latin America. Left-wing opposition criticised Ayuso for turning the medal into a membership card for the far-right international. In her speech Ayuso contrasted Chile with Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, where, she argued, enemies of freedom had taken power.

“We are free nations and we defend our governments, liberal democracies and the rule of law, which will not give way to authoritarianism.”