The new left-wing president of Chile promises his country a better education and health system.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Santiago de Chile Former student leader Gabriel Boric was elected the youngest president in the history of Chile at the age of 35. The candidate of the left-wing electoral alliance “Apruebo Dignidad” (I agree to the dignity) came in the runoff election on Sunday (local time) to almost 56 percent. Right-wing populist José Antonio Kast of German origin received a good 44 percent of the vote and congratulated his competitor on his victory. Due to the huge political gap between the two candidates, the election was considered a turning point, and many even considered it the most important election since Chile’s return to democracy in 1990.
Boric, who comes from Punta Arenas on the southern tip of the country, led the student protests in Chile in 2011 and was elected MP in 2013. In the first ballot four weeks ago, he finished second just behind Kast.
With him, a new political generation is coming to the presidential palace: Boric stands for a revitalized progressive left that has grown strongly, especially since 2019. Under his leadership, the country is likely to maintain the course of social openness it has taken.
Thousands celebrated, drawn to his first speech on the Alameda main thoroughfare in the capital Santiago de Chile and in other cities of the South American country. Boric assured his compatriots that he wanted to bridge the rifts between right and left that had come to light during the election campaign: “I will be the president of all Chileans.”
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Boric has promised a public education system and better health care modeled on the European welfare state. He also advocates the rights of migrants, indigenous peoples and homosexuals. On the other hand, his rival Kast, who was 20 years his senior, had promised tax cuts, a border trench against illegal immigration and crackdown on criminals. The father of nine and a devout Catholic from the Republican Party is considered a sympathizer of the former dictator Augusto Pinochet.
The social gap in the model country Chile is wide
Chile is regarded as a kind of model example in the region. The country has the highest per capita income in South America, and poverty has been reduced significantly in recent decades. But the social gap is wide. Large parts of the health and education system have been privatized, and more and more Chileans feel left behind.
Two years ago, thousands of demonstrators called for social reforms and the resignation of President Sebastián Piñera every day for weeks. They have already been able to implement one of their most important demands, which Boric also supported: a convention is currently working on a new constitution. The current text dates from the time of the Pinochet military dictatorship (1973-1990).
A total of around 15 million people were eligible to vote in Chile. The turnout was 55 percent. The new head of state is scheduled to take office in March.
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