In an emotional speech, President Gabriel Boric quotes Allende: “We are opening the great avenues where free men and women pass”

At 20:00 hours exactly, President Gabriel Boric appeared on the balcony of the Palacio de la Moneda, to deliver to the citizens his first speech as President, after the change of command made this Friday. “Chileans and Chileans, inhabitants of our homeland, People of Chile. This afternoon, for the first time, I speak to you as President of the Republic. President of all of us who inhabit this country and who love Chile. Thank you for giving this honor to you,” was his first sentence.
“This Chile, made of diverse peoples and nations (…) it is this Chile that in recent years has had to face earthquakes, pandemics, and human rights violations that will never happen again in the country,” he added. To the citizens, he told them that “they are a leading part of this process. The people of Chile are the protagonists. We would not be here without social mobilizations. We came here to give ourselves body and soul.” “I’ve seen their faces,” Boric said, going on to list the LGBTI+ community, indebted students, those looking for missing detainees, children, among others. “With you is my commitment,” he said.
Later, and recalling the democratic history of Chile, the President said that “we do not start from scratch. Chile has a long history. To begin my mandate is to make us part of a history,” recalling presidents such as Salvador Allende and Michelle Bachelet. He did not mention the outgoing Sebastián Piñera.
“Today on this important day in the difficult path of changes that citizens made to walk in unity. I repeat, in unity, those of us who marched come to mind. This government is not going to be the end of that march. We’re going to keep walking. The road is going to be long and difficult. Today the dreams of thousands of people are pushing us to carry out the changes they demand of us. (…) When we finish this mandate we can look at our parents, siblings, children, grandparents, neighbors, and tell them that there is a country that takes care of us,” he said. In this part he reminded the residents of Puchuncaví, Alto Hospicio, Cardenal Caro and other localities of the country, and the difficulties they live day by day. “That’s why we will push the 40 hours,” he added.
“We know that the fulfillment of our proposals will not be easy, we will face internal and external crises. We will make mistakes, but we must face them with humility, always thinking of the people of Chile.”
Measures in different areas
Subsequently, he began to cite various areas. The first, health. “The pandemic continues its course, with a balance of loss of life,” and had to stop because the people stationed in the Plaza de la Constitución began to shout “Boric, friend, the people are with you,” which excited the President. Upon resuming, he asked to think about the families who lost a being due to the pandemic. “We have to embrace each other in society, we have to smile again. How important it is when in the village we love each other. We got ahead together and together.”
As for the economy, he said that the country has to grow, but that they have to “redistribute the wealth produced by Chileans.”
“We have to work together with fraternal peoples. Let’s work together in Latin America to move forward together,” he said in international affairs.
In terms of health, he said they will continue with the “successful vaccination strategy” of the government of Sebastián Piñera and will also focus on mental health. In terms of Education, he called for the resumption of face-to-face classes, always with “protection measures”.
In Security, they recognize that many Chileans “live in fear.” “We are going to confront,” with a reform of the police, among other announcements. “We’re going to pit them against the community,” he said. “In the north we are going to regain control of the borders. In the south, and after criticizing terms such as “pacification” or the “Mapuche conflict,” he said that they will repair all the victims, with dialogue, because it is a problem of the State of Chile and communities that “have the right to exist.”
“We will repair the wounds of the explosion,” and that’s why, he says, they withdrew the complaints under the State Security Law.
In constitutional matters, he reiterated the “unrestricted” support. “We will accompany the constituent process. A Constitution for the present and the future. One that is for everyone and not for a few. May we listen to each other in good faith, without caricatures, from all sides, so that the exit plebiscite is a meeting point and not a point of division. The people are watching us. The world is looking at usndo. And they see with complicity what we do in Chile. I am sure that we will live up to this democratic process.”
“As a cabinet, as a team, we will not take away the problems. Let’s explain each of our decisions. We do not want our authorities to be unattainable. We want ministers with the people. That’s what we’re all going to need: governments and the opposition.” “I will be the president of chileans. I will listen to the criticism and constructive proposals of the dissidents, who will have every right to dissent,” he added.
“We are going slowly because we are going far. It is central that you become part of the progress. We can’t do it alone. I want to make an appeal to you: let us walk together on the path of hope. We will build it step by step, with the wisdom with those who know that the changes that last are those that are supported by a large majority.”
“I assume with humility and with the awareness of the difficulty of the task entrusted to me. In Chile there is no one left over. I know that in 4 more years, the people will judge us by our deeds and not by our words. Today more was needed, tomorrow we have to get to work.
Quoting Salvador Allende, President Boric ended his speech by saying that “we are opening the great avenues, where free men and women pass to build a better society. We. Long live Chile!” A last breath as he left the podium closed his speech.

Original source in Spanish