The Government spokesperson, Camila Vallejo, has confirmed today that the left-wing Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, will attend the ceremony, on December 10, in which the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, will hand over command to the far-right economist, Javier Milei, elected on Sunday. Until yesterday it was a mystery whether Boric would attend, because when Vallejo was consulted about it on Tuesday, he only said that he was “with a very intense agenda in international, regional, economic and security matters”, but that, “beyond the visit or not to the change of command, our central objective is to maintain a good diplomatic relationship with Argentina.”
On the other hand, today Vallejo said that Boric’s attendance at Milei’s inauguration is “a decision that has been made. The president represents the State of Chile, and as has always been done, he is going to attend.” “This is a standard that the president has for all cases. We are interested in building and strengthening diplomatic and State relations with all countries, regardless of whether the governments in power are like-minded or not, because when we talk about State policy, we speak for the good of our people, whom we we represent,” he added.
On Tuesday, after Vallejo did not confirm whether Boric would attend the change of command, both from the ruling party, but especially from the right, began to pressure for the Chilean president to attend. Even six of the members of the House Foreign Relations Commission, who are part of both the ruling party and the opposition, sent him a letter in which they recommended he go.
Faced with the series of pressures, on Tuesday the Chilean president said, regarding his presence at the change of command, that “these are matters of State and I do not need anyone to tell me what I have to do or not do as president or not.” But he also admitted that it was a decision that was being discussed and that he was “willing to do so.” “I have to represent Chile in its historical continuity and Argentina is a priority country with our relations and, therefore, I am going to fulfill that duty in all the diplomatic responsibilities that exist,” the president said.
“The Chilean people and the Argentine people are brother people, therefore, my duty as President of the Republic is that, regardless of the political differences that, without a doubt, exist, between the elected president (in Argentina) and the Government in exercise in Chile, our people and our countries have high-minded State relations,” he added yesterday.
A 10 minute conversation
Boric called Javier Milei by phone on Tuesday. As reported by La Moneda, the left-wing president and the leader of the Argentine far-right held “a frank conversation in which the well-being of both peoples was put first” that lasted 10 minutes.
After Milei’s victory, Boric greeted him on social networks: “Today the Argentine people had a democratic day to elect their President for the next four years. I salute Javier Milei for his victory and Sergio Massa for his worthy recognition of the defeat. I wish the Argentine people the best and know that they will always have our respect and support. As President of Chile, I will work tirelessly to keep our sister nations united and collaborating for the well-being of all.”
The focus on the reaction of Boric, who is close to President Alberto Fernández, was after they had some friction this year. In July, when Milei traveled to Santiago, as a candidate for the presidency of Argentina, he said at a press conference that “among the leftists they come together, that is, among the impoverishers they come together, and just as we hope to get rid of the Kirchnerist plague (… ) I hope that you have the happiness and height to also be able to get rid of this impoverisher Boric.”
In parallel, opposition parliamentarians urged the president to appoint a next ambassador to Argentina who would be a career and not a politician, as they have been in the last governments of both the center-left and the right. This is because the position left in Buenos Aires by Bárbara Figueroa, who returned to Chile in September to take over as general secretary of the Communist Party, has not been filled. Boric said that she will choose an ambassador “with the best skills,” but that “I appoint the ambassador, not the other side.”
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