The president of Chile, Gabriel Boricasked this Monday that “violence never again replace democratic debate” and said that the 50th anniversary of the 1973 coup d’état is an opportunity to “strengthen coexistence.”
(You can read: Puebla Group demands an apology from the US for its role in the Coup d’état in Chile)
“Today we say before Chile and the world: democracy today and always,” said Boric, the most leftist president to come to power since the overthrown Salvador Allende (1970-1973).
(Continue reading: Military coup in Chile: ‘Memory is a first step,’ says Senator Isabel Allende)
In a speech sense, Boric assured that “democracy is a continuous construction” and “the only way to advance to a more just and humane society”.
“Between diversity and among those who think differently, with whom we can build a better society,” said the president, the only one born after the coup, like 70% of Chileans.
(We recommend our special: Chile: 50 years of the military coup and a divided society)
Chile reaches 50 years since the coup in a great polarization and with a very tense political class that is not capable of reaching consensus on the democratic breakdown.
Both the traditional right, grouped in the Chile Vamos coalition, and the most extreme right of the Republican Party refused to participate in the commemorative events and declined to sign a joint declaration in favor of democracy.
Boric, 37, thanked the country’s four living former presidents, including the conservative Sebastián Piñera, who governed alongside the Chile Vamos parties, for signing the so-called “Santiago Commitment,” a letter with four points to defend democracy .
(Keep reading: In photos: President Gustavo Petro arrived in Chile this Monday, what will he do in that country?)
“Reconciliation does not involve equalizing responsibilities between victims and perpetrators, but rather doing everything in our power to have truth and justice,” said Boric, who recently announced the first national plan to search for those who disappeared during the regime of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).
Reconciliation does not involve equalizing responsibilities between victims and perpetrators, but rather doing everything in our power to have truth and justice.
The Independent Democratic Union (UDI), one of the parties of Chile Vamos and of Pinochet origin, published a harsh statement this Monday in which it assured that the coup was “inevitable” because during Allende’s Popular Unity Government “an social, political and institutional breakdown”.
“I do not regret for a second being, together with my Government, on the side of those who suffered,” said Boric, who described Allende as a man “with an impeccable democratic trajectory” and “an interpreter of great desires for justice” and thanked different countries in the region for having given asylum to thousands of Chileans.
(Read also: Operation Condor: Pinochet’s terror pact during the dictatorship in Chile)
The coup began a cruel 17-year dictatorship that left more than 40,000 victims, including at least 3,200 murdered opponents.of which a thousand remain missing.
Before the ceremony, Boric offered a breakfast and a tour of La Moneda (seat of Government) to the international leaders and personalities invited to the event, including the presidents of Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Uruguay, as well as the prime minister of Portugal.
EFE
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