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Chile Making a future

In December of 2021, Chile took its next big step in an on-going transformation most Chileans hope will lead to a more just and equitable society. Gabriel Boric was elected as the country's next president and his opponent, in a notable contrast with the most recent American presidential election, conceded defeat and wished Boric well.

Posting on Twitter, José Antonio Kast wrote, Boric is the president-elect, and "he deserves all our respect and collaboration." Out-going President Sebastián Piñera, was similarly gracious and said, "democracy worked, and you[Boric] were a part of that."

"I will be the president of all Chileans," Boric promised. At 36, he will be Chile's youngest president in two hundred years, when he is sworn in next month.

Downtown Santiago.

Boric's election, after a contentious campaign, is the latest piece of a political revolution that began in Chile in the fall of 2019 with massive street protests over an unexpected increase in subway fares.

The protests led to a Constitutional Convention that is drafting a new constitution scheduled to be put to a nationwide vote in the third quarter of this year. President Boric, if all goes according to plan, will be the first president to guide the country under this new frame.

Boric's campaign platform was built on making the wealthy pay higher taxes to expand the social safety net for the working class and to create an economy with an emphasis on climate protection.

Environmental and economic justice are closely linked in Chile; the world's number one producer of copper and the second largest producer of lithium. Copper and lithium are key ingredients in a world eager to use electricity and batteries to power a greener future.

The people of Chile, in their protests in favor of a new constitution, and in the election of Boric, have made clear that they want a system of lithium harvesting that benefits all Chileans, not just mining companies, and they want lithium and copper mining done responsibly.

Santiago was fully painted with anti-government graffiti and decorated with political banners when I was there at the start of the new year in 2020.

The world may have something to learn from Chile, where a popular revolt led - not to a government crackdown - but a well-planned, thoughtful transition to a new system, based on a democratic process.

The transformation was not entirely peaceful. Protestors did lose their lives in the early days of the revolution. Most reports put the number of fatalities at about 30, with close to 3,000 injured in daily street demonstrations that stretched into 2020. But those protests led to a framework for the drafting of a new constitution that is so far, on schedule.

Bottom: A street memorial to victims of political violence who died in the 2019 protests.

While many see hope in the wave of democratic change sweeping through Chile, others are concerned the reforms cannot be sustained, and may fall short of popular expectations. Those concerns mainly come from outside the country.

The Chile of everyday life makes clear the population has long, and patiently, waited for dramatic change. Progress may be slow and there may be setbacks, but there is broad hope that the new government, under a new constitution, will give everyone a fair chance.

Palacio de La Moneda, the presidential palace, in Santiago.

For more stories visit ThisDecisiveMoment.com

© Dean Pagani 2022

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© Dean Pagani 2022

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