With military honors, the presence of family members and dignitaries from several countries, former Chilean president Sebastián Piñera is fired at a state funeral, after his death last Tuesday, February 6, in a helicopter accident that he was piloting. The ceremonies conclude this Friday after three days of national mourning decreed by the current president Gabriel Boric to pay tribute to his predecessor, whom he described as “a democrat from the first hour.” Thousands of citizens gathered in the capital to pay tribute to the man who was chosen to lead the country twice.
In a massive, solemn and emotional ceremony, Chile bids its final farewell to its former head of state twice.
Amid applause and surrounded by the Chilean flag, the coffin with the body of former president Sebastián Piñera was received at the headquarters of the old Congress, in Santiago.
Various national and regional political figures, as well as family members and thousands of citizens, traveled to the capital. Among them, former president Michelle Bachelet, who in a ceremony headed by current president Gabriel Boric, paid tribute to the man who led the country between 2010 and 2014 and from 2018 to 2022.
Years in which his government was at the forefront of important events, from the rescue of the 33 miners in 2010, to the strong social revolts that shook the Chilean territory in 2019.
He paved the way for a modern and democratic right
“He was a resilient leader who knew how to change the script when necessary, who faced unforeseen challenges and who unapologetically rejected authoritarian temptations, wherever they came from,” stressed Boric, the first left-wing president in the country's democratic history and who succeeded Piñera in office.
The head of state highlighted that the late president was a politician who “paved the way for a modern and democratic, liberal right, open to dialogue (…) I repeat today what I said as soon as we heard the news: Sebastián Piñera was a democrat from the first hour , rejecting the continuity of the dictatorship in the 1988 plebiscite,” he exemplified.
“It is time for us to respect each other in our legitimate differences”
Piñera, a conservative billionaire first elected 14 years ago, oversaw times of strong economic growth but also continued protests. Boric himself was a leader of the student mobilization during Piñera's first term in which they demanded educational reforms. But the now president invited us to leave divisions behind and put mutual respect first.
“These days some have remembered that we were political adversaries. It is true (…) It is time, compatriots, that we get used to respecting each other in our legitimate differences, to agreeing on truces or agreements despite aspirations or stories that separate us. To assume the understandings not as the triumphs of some over others, not as the renunciation of some in favor of others, but as the necessary path to advance in a complex world full of uncertainties, and above all putting the greater good of our country first. of our discrepancies,” he highlighted.
The differences did not bother him, his liberal heart encouraged them.
Bachelet, among other political leaders, joined the interventions to pay tribute to him, who described Piñera as one of the “greatest protagonists” of the Chilean State.
“I want to highlight something that no one can take away from President Piñera, the differences did not bother him, his liberal heart encouraged them (…) It was he who invited the United Nations to prepare a rigorous report with recommendations to address the serious violations of human rights ”, highlighted the woman who also served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. H H.
“The mark it leaves makes consolation possible”
Thousands of mourners also laid roses and candles at the Piñera house in Las Condes, an exclusive neighborhood in eastern Santiago, while thousands more waved flags and photographs of the former president as the caravan passed through the city on its way to the old Congress.
“The mark he leaves makes consolation possible, because his actions as a human being cannot be forgotten,” added the president of the Supreme Court, Ricardo Blanco, in one of the various speeches given this February 9.
The tributes were joined by several of the 33 miners rescued after the collapse of a mine that left the country and Latin America in suspense more than a decade ago. A story that made it to the movies and that in real life was suppressed by Piñera as head of state at that time.
“Imagine hearing the president say, 'We'll look for them like they're our children.' I will never forget it,” said Juan Carlos Aguilar, one of the rescued people who came to pay his respects to Piñera.
After the tributes at the old headquarters of the Legislature, the coffin was transferred to the Metropolitan Cathedral, for a mass led by the archbishop of Santiago, Fernando Chomalí.
“I still can't make many reflections because the impact is very strong (…) But it has been very exciting to see all the people from all over Chile. I also thank the Government, President Boric, who received us very warmly. affection and has arranged this state funeral,” said Piñera's wife, Cecilia Morel.
After the religious ceremony, the funeral caravan advanced towards the Palacio de la Moneda, in the center of the Chilean capital, to also receive tributes before finally being transferred to the Parque del memoria cemetery.
Loved by many and criticized by others, Piñera governed his country in two different periods and some hoped to see him again in the Presidency.
“I'm not right-wing, but I think he was one of the best presidents Chile had because it was when Chile had greater economic stability, the money was noticeable,” said Alonso Reyes, a driver in Viña del Mar.
But his two terms were also marred by frequent protests, first by students demanding educational reform, and then by broader mobilizations, which led to violence and complaints against the Police for excessive use of force. A key moment in modern Chilean history, in which thousands demonstrated against inequality and whose demands ended with the promise of writing a new Constitution.
With Reuters, EFE and local media
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