Kast resumes supreme command and Alvarado exercises the Vic…

The President of the Republic, José Antonio Kast Rist, resumed supreme command of the Nation by means of Decree No. 152, signed in Santiago on October 16, 2026, the same day that the Minister of the Interior, Claudio Alvarado Andrade, had assumed command with the title of Vice President of the Republic by Decree No. 151. Both decrees from the Undersecretariat of the Interior were published in Section I of the Official Gazette (Diario Oficial) no. 44,594, corresponding to Monday, November 9, 2026, under the heading General Regulations.

The regulatory framework invoked in both texts is the same: articles 29 and 32 No. 6 of the Political Constitution of the Republic, Resolution No. 36 of 2024 of the Comptroller General of the Republic and its amendments. In Decree No. 151, Decree No. 150 of 2026 of the Ministry of the Interior is added as a precedent, which reported the President’s departure from the national territory.

The two decrees, one by one

Decree No. 151 (official reference CVE 2897090), “Assumes Vice Presidency of the Republic”: as of this date, he assumes supreme command of the Nation, with the title of Vice President of the Republic, due to the President’s absence from the national territory.
Decree No. 152 (official reference CVE 2897089), “Resumes supreme command of the Nation”: upon returning to the country, the President resumes supreme command as of that date.
Both are dated Santiago, October 16, 2026, and were published on page 1 of edition no. 44,594.

Signatures and processing

Decree No. 151 appears signed by Claudio Alvarado Andrade as Vice President of the Republic and by Máximo Pavez Cantillano as Minister of the Interior (S). Decree No. 152, on the other hand, bears the signature of José Antonio Kast Rist as President of the Republic and of Claudio Alvarado Andrade as Minister of the Interior, that is, already in his permanent position and not in an acting capacity.

In both cases, the transcription for notification is handled by Máximo Pavez Cantillano, Undersecretary of the Interior, and both close with the formula “Be it noted, recorded, and published,” typical of decrees that require recording by the Comptroller General of the Republic.

A repeated sequence during 2026

Decrees 151 and 152 are not an isolated episode, but the most recent link in a series. The Official Gazette has published equivalent pairs of “assumes vice presidency” and “resumes supreme command” in its editions of September 3 and 8, September 24 (no. 44,557), and October 27, 2026 (no. 44,584). In that last edition appeared Decree No. 142, of September 20, and Decree No. 146, of September 25, both of 2026.

The numbering of the decrees allows for the reconstruction of the complete sequence of each absence: first, the decree stating the departure from the territory is issued, then the one handing over command to the Vice President, and finally, the one restoring it to the Head of State. 24 days elapsed between the signing of Decree No. 152 and its appearance in the bulletin.

Institutional Impact

The simultaneous publication of both decrees provides formal evidence, with a certain date, of who exercised supreme command during the presidential absence, a decisive piece of data for the validity of the administrative acts issued during that interval.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, no. 44,594, Monday, November 9, 2026, Section I, page 1 (official reference: CVE 2897090 and CVE 2897089).