A few hours ago, Chileans gave their trust to Gabriel Boric Font to assume the Presidency of the Republic of Chile on March 11, 2022 for a period of four years.
In the elections that took place yesterday, Sunday, December 19, the winning candidate Boric, with 55.85% of the votes and 35 years the youngest of all, did so by leading the Social Convergence – Alliance I Approve Dignity, both located the left. In addition, for the second round he received the explicit support of the Christian Democracy, Socialists and the Party for Democracy, together with former presidents Ricardo Lagos and Michel Bachelet, among many others.
Who is Gabriel Boric Font? The newly elected President comes from Patagonia, from a wealthy family in the city of Punta Arenas, in the southernmost region of Chile. Gabriel is the first of three brothers, who between 1991 and 2003 studied at The British School in Punta Arena.
Then as a student at the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile, he was president of his Federation of Students during the period 2011-2012 and one of the main leaders of the student mobilizations of 2011. In the parliamentary elections of 2013 he was elected as deputy for the Magallanes Region: as a representative of the 60th district for the 2014-2018 legislative period, and then —in the 2017 parliamentary elections—, as a deputy in the renowned 28th district for the 2018-2022 period.
He participated in the creation of the Broad Front (FA), a coalition of left-wing parties and movements. In August 2021 he was nominated as a presidential candidate by Social Convergence, a party he had founded in 2018, and by the FA. After winning in the primaries on July 18, 2021, he became the candidate of the Approve Dignity coalition for the presidential election last November, obtaining 25.83%, allowing him to go to the second round and emerge victorious.
As a legislator, he is one of the actors who signed the Agreement for Social Peace and the New Constitution to stop the street violence of October 18, 2019. His conciliatory position caused tensions with the Communist Party (PC) that refused to sign the pact.
Likewise, in 2018, without informing his political party, he met in Paris with Ricardo Palma Salamanca, a former member of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front and a fugitive from Chilean justice for the crime of right-wing senator Jaime Guzmán (1991) and other crimes. In a presidential debate where he was rebuked by his main rival, Kast, he apologized: “When I’m wrong I have the ability to reflect on my mistakes and ask for forgiveness.”
Boric has since 2014 investigated some cases of market manipulation. Likewise, she has promoted legal abortion, feminist causes and same-sex marriage.
The proposals of the newly elected Boric are heterogeneous, the list of changes is very extensive, although one of the main ideas is to amplify the State for which it proposes taxes on the richest and increase the tax burden on mining companies and raise tax obligations by 8%, a fact that had to slow down to attract voters located more in the center of the political spectrum.
In the economic area, it has specific matters aimed at small and medium-sized companies “our program considers a series of support measures, both in the short term and in the medium and long term,” said Boric. Among which we cite “soft loans for the sector, the forgiveness of tax debts incurred during the pandemic and a reduction in VAT during the first three months of management.”
His advisers urged the candidate Boric to conform in 2022 to the level of spending agreed in the general state budgets that was approved last November and sets a 22.5% cut in public spending on the projected execution, at a time when the country consolidates its economic recovery after the pandemic.
Other offers: end the AFP system; creation of a universal basic pension of $250 thousand; improvements in pensions with an emphasis on women and lower pensions; new public pension system with voluntary transfer; increase of 6 percentage points in the contribution charged to the employer; maintain retirement age.
Will it be easy for Boric to fulfill his program? We think not. As the current Chambers of Congress have been constituted, it will be necessary to negotiate intensely if they want to achieve compromises that allow the current laws to be modified. For now, in the Senate there is a 50% tie and in the Chamber of Deputies there is so much fragmentation that a priori it will be an arduous task to bring them all together. In the latter there are over 20 parties, some with only one seat.
Finally, Boric’s legitimate victory has been unquestionable against a center-right that has come out stronger in Parliament. Yes, according to what was stated in the debates during the campaign about having to dialogue and understand each other to achieve the best for the citizens of each option, that is, for all Chileans.
We hope that tranquility and institutional stability will return to the country, something essential for companies, entrepreneurs and investors to return to their projects with force and students return to their classes, the latter essential to continue reducing inequality and for the nation to continue on the path of growth.
Wish him all the luck in the world, with his good work it will be Chile who wins.
Merry Christmas!
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