At exactly 8:00 p.m., President Gabriel Boric appeared on the balcony of the Palacio de la Moneda, to deliver his first speech as President to the public, after the change of command made this Friday. “Chilean men and women, inhabitants of our homeland, the People of Chile. This afternoon, for the first time, I speak to you as President of the Republic. President of all of us who inhabit this country and who love Chile. Thank you for giving me this honor to you”, was his first sentence.
“This Chile, made up of diverse peoples and nations (…) is this Chile that in recent years has had to face earthquakes, pandemics, and human rights violations that will never occur in the country again,” he added. To the citizens, he told them that “they are a leading part of this process. The people of Chile are leading. We would not be here without the social mobilizations. We came here to give ourselves body and soul.” “I’ve seen their faces,” Boric said, going on to list the LGBTI+ community, students in debt, those looking for missing detainees, children, among others. “With you is my commitment,” he assured.
Subsequently, and recalling Chile’s democratic history, the President stated that “we are not starting from scratch. Chile has a long history. Starting my mandate is making us part of a story”, recalling presidents such as Salvador Allende and Michelle Bachelet. He did not mention outgoing Sebastián Piñera.
“Today, on this important day on the difficult path of changes that citizens have made to walk in unity. I repeat, in unity, those of us who were marching come to mind. This government will not be the end of that march. We are going to keep walking. The road is going to be long and difficult. Today the dreams of thousands of people are pushing us to carry out the changes that are demanded of us. (…) When we finish this mandate we can look to our parents, brothers, children, grandparents, neighbors, and tell them that there is a country that takes care of us,” he said. In this part he reminded the residents of Puchuncaví, Alto Hospicio, Cardenal Caro and other towns in the country, and the difficulties they experience day by day. “That’s why we will push for 40 hours,” he added.
“We know that compliance with our proposals will not be easy, we will face internal and external crises. We will make mistakes, but we must face them with humility, always thinking of the people of Chile.”
Measurements in different areas
Subsequently, he began to cite various areas. The first, health. “The pandemic continues its course, with a balance of loss of life”, and had to stop because the people stationed in the Plaza de la Constitución began to shout “Boric, friend, the people are with you”, which moved the President. Upon resuming, he asked to think of the families who lost a loved one due to the pandemic. “We have to embrace each other in society, we have to smile again. How important it is when we love each other in the town. We get ahead together.”
Regarding the economy, he said that the country has to grow, but that they have to “redistribute the wealth produced by Chilean men and women.”
“We have to work together with brother peoples. Let’s work together in Latin America to move forward together,” he said in international affairs.
In terms of health, he said that they will continue with the “successful vaccination strategy” of the Sebastián Piñera government and will also focus on mental health. In terms of Education, he called for the resumption of face-to-face classes, always with “protective measures”.
In Security, they recognize that many Chileans “live in fear.” “We are going to confront”, with a reform to the police, among other announcements. “We are going to confront them with the community,” he said. “In the north we are going to retake control of the borders. In the south, and after criticizing terms such as “pacification” or the “Mapuche conflict,” he said that they are going to repair all the victims, with dialogue, because it is a problem of the State of Chile and communities that “have the right to exist”.
“We will repair the wounds from the explosion,” and for this reason, he says, they withdrew the complaints for the State Security Law.
In constitutional matters, he reiterated his “unrestricted” support. “We will accompany the constituent process. A Constitution for the present and the future. One that is for everyone and not for a few. That we listen to each other in good faith, without caricatures, from all sides, so that the exit plebiscite is a point meeting and not division. The people are looking at us. The world is looking at us. And they see with complicity what we do in Chile. I am sure that we will be up to the task of this democratic process”.
“As a cabinet, as a team, we will not remove the problems. We are going to explain each of our decisions. We do not want our authorities to be unattainable. We want ministers with the people. For that we are going to need all of us: governments and opposition “. “I will be the president of the Chilean men and women. I will listen to the criticism and constructive proposals of the dissidents, who will have every right to dissent,” he added.
“We are going slowly because we are going far. It is essential that you become part of the progress. We cannot do it alone. I want to make a call to you: let us walk together on the path of hope. We will build it step by step, with the wisdom of those who know that Changes that last are those that are supported by a large majority.
“I assume with humility and with the awareness of the difficulty of the task that has been entrusted to me. In Chile there is no one left over. I know that in 4 more years, the people will judge us by our deeds and not by our words. Today more was needed, Tomorrow you have to get to work.
Quoting Salvador Allende, President Boric ended his speech by saying that “andwe are opening the great malls, where free men and women pass to build a better society. We continue. Long live Chile!”. A final sigh as he left the podium, he closed his speech.
