At Odeplan, Kast focused most of his energies on creating the "map of extreme poverty", which would become the cornerstone of Chile's social development programs.

[citation needed] In 1980, Kast became Labor Minister under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Kast decided in August 1982 to completely free the exchange rate, further devaluing the peso and bringing new intervention from the central authority.

[4] Kast left government life in late 1982 and dedicated himself to the business world and his professorship at Chile's Pontifical Catholic University.

Around this time, he began to feel unwell, developing signs of physical weakness and a pale appearance.