Ayuso Uses Madrid Medal to Honor Kast's Politics

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Madrid regional government, awarded Chilean President José Antonio Kast the region’s International Medal on Monday, Nov. 2, ahead of the 30th Ibero-American Summit. Demonstrators protested outside the regional government headquarters as the ceremony put political power and its preferred allies on display.

The medal is purely honorary, but its award rests on the regional president’s personal initiative. Ayuso, a People’s Party leader, praised Kast’s “commitment to freedom, security, prosperity and the defence of institutions.” Kast called Madrid “one of the most open, free and prosperous regions in Europe.” Their speeches offered a polished account of who protects freedom—and who gets to define it.

An honor chosen from the top

Ayuso said: “On both sides of the Atlantic we defend the same things.” She described Chile as “an example of what a nation can achieve when it trusts its citizens,” contrasting it with Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. She also said, “We are free nations and we defend our governments and liberal democracies and the rule of law, which will not yield to authoritarianism.”

Kast made security the central duty of the state. “It is the first duty of the state. And when the state fails in that duty, the most vulnerable pay,” he said. “Without security there is no order, without order there is no peace and without peace there is no freedom.” In his formulation, people at the bottom bear the cost when the state fails; the ceremony itself offered no account from those most vulnerable.

The Community of Madrid created the International Medal in 2017. Previous recipients include Argentine President Javier Milei, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, Venezuelan opposition leaders Juan Guaidó and Edmundo González, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Pope Leo XIV, and the United States, for the 250th anniversary of its independence.

Manuela Bergerot, spokeswoman for Más Madrid in the regional assembly, accused Ayuso of turning the award into “the membership card of her far-right international.” That challenge came from an elected regional assembly member; demonstrators also gathered outside the headquarters. The source reports no further details about the protest.

Summit diplomacy and election-season combat

Kast began the day with a private meeting with Vox leader Santiago Abascal, with whom he has close ties. He planned to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during the summit, which brings together Latin American countries with Spain, Portugal and Andorra.

Milei and Sánchez were also due to cross paths at the Madrid summit on Nov. 4-5, amid an increasingly strained relationship. No bilateral meeting was planned, diplomatic sources confirmed to the Noticias Argentinas news agency. They were nevertheless scheduled to share official engagements, including the opening ceremony, plenary sessions and the official group photograph. Milei has repeatedly attacked Sánchez and his Socialist-led government; during his previous visit to Spain, he called Sánchez a “dictator.”

Sánchez answered on Monday at a political forum in Barcelona: “Spain is governed from Spain, not from Washington, Tel Aviv, Moscow or Buenos Aires.” Spain’s Nov. 29 general election was approaching, and Sánchez sought to link opposition forces, including the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and far-right Vox, to Milei’s government’s political agenda. “For the far right, conflict and confrontation are not merely a means of attaining power; they are an end in themselves,” he said, accusing the “far-right international” of forming alliances to weaken Europe from within.

Milei was due to travel with his sister, Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei, and Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno. The Argentine delegation was expected to contact Spanish government representatives and pursue initiatives to strengthen Argentina’s ties with Europe. The summit agenda includes economic cooperation, sustainable development and challenges posed by artificial intelligence. For all the talk of citizens as “masters of their own lives,” the scheduled business remains in the hands of presidents, ministers and regional leaders.