Amid the well-established ceremonial tradition of the new president’s inauguration, major challenges and a wave of criticism from his constituents, Gabriel Borek takes over the presidency of Chile on Friday (11).
Borek is facing harsh criticism from the left who elected him for a number of factors, such as the formation of a more moderate center-left cabinet, advocating a gradual pace of tax and social security reforms and not giving immediate guarantees of release. So-called “political prisoners” – the people deprived of their liberty during the 2019 protests and land struggles in the south of the country.
“No doubt, [os eleitores de esquerda] They will be the ones who will make more demands at the beginning of the government,” he said paper Political analyst Claudia Hess. “To win the election, Borek went as center as he could and thus lost ground on the left. He will have to show the will to implement changes quickly, while facing the problems he inherited.”
One of the topics that cannot wait for the state of exception is the militarization of the south and north of the country in October 2021, whose deadline has not yet expired.
In the south, the situation with the Mapuche groups seems to have calmed down, but in the north, in the Iquique region, tension persists. The new Minister of the Interior, Izkiah Sichis, expressed the possibility of submitting a proposal to Congress to renew the measure in the region witnessing clashes due to the continued arrival of illegal immigrants.
“If Borek takes charge and immediately sends to Congress a request to use a difficult resource, such as the one he used [Sebastián] Pinera, there will be protests. If it was necessary to send “policemen” to quell the protests for this, this government would have started poorly, at least in terms of its promises,” Hayes says.
But not everything will be a problem on Friday. Santiago is preparing for a night of folk festivities on the Alameda (the capital’s main street) after the protocol ceremonies that take place during the day in Valparaíso, where the Chilean Congress is being held.
Borek, 36, took over the presidency after defeating far-right Jose Antonio Caste in the second round by 55.87% to 44.13% on December 19.
The presidential sash is passed in the Congressional Hall of Honor, according to tradition in 1990, when dictator Augusto Pinochet handed power to Patricio Aylwin.
While Borek will spend the night leading up to the opening in Valparaíso, the current president, Pinera, will arrive in town in his traditional Ford Galaxie, open car, where he will be able to welcome the Chilean audience. The car was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and it has already transported, in addition to the actors, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, poet Pablo Neruda and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Among the many heads of state, King Felipe VI of Spain, Argentine Alberto Fernandez, Ecuadorean Guillermo Laso, Paraguayan Mario Abdo Benitez, Bolivian Luis Ars and Uruguayan Lacalle Po will attend. Brazil will be represented by Hamilton Mourao. Borek received the Brazilian Vice President in Santiago on Thursday.
The dictators of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, as well as the leader of the Cuban regime, Miguel Diaz-Canel were not invited.
There will be some guests representing the left who likes Borek. One of them is the leading candidate in the preferences in Colombia, Gustavo Petro, former Vice President of Bolivia Álvaro García Linera, representatives of the Uruguayan Broad Front, the Spaniard Inigo Eregon, and defectors from the Sandinistas, such as writers Sergio Ramirez and Gioconda. Billy.
Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is also among those confirmed on the list released by the ceremony, as is British laborer Jeremy Corbyn.
In the visits of the elected delegations, Pokemon wins
Throughout the day, Boric and Piñera received the various delegations that traveled to Santiago for the inauguration. By the way, Mourao also met the president who left the post on Friday.
One of the notable meetings of the elected official took place with the Japanese Foreign Minister, Kiyoshi Odawara, who presented Borek with plush toys for characters from the cartoon “Pokemon”. In his social networks, the politician has already said that he is a fan of the series and the little monster Squirtle, a kind of turtle.
Later, the Chilean took to the networks to thank him for the gift, with a video clip of the moment he got the Pokemon.
Orfãos Street, between Liberdade and Esperança
Meanwhile, in Santiago, the house the president-elect chose to live with his partner Irina Karamanos is a source of interest and attracts people who like to take selfies.
Since the president does not have an official residence in Chile, it was necessary to search for a new property, since the original Borek house is located in Punta Arenas, in the south of the country.
Boric and Karamanos will live in the famous downtown district of Yungay. Historic municipality whose streets are made of stone, not asphalt, and most of the buildings date from the 19th century. It is a lively place with bars, restaurants and squares. There is also a vinyl record store near the new address of Borek, of which the president-elect has already become a customer.
The title is almost poetic: Calle Huérfanos (orphans) is located between Calle Libertad and Calle Esperanza.
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