The Socialist International congratulates Gabriel Boric and the Chilean people on the election results of Sunday 19 December 2021
UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION FROM SPANISH
Speech by President-elect Gabriel Boric Font
GOOD NIGHT CHILE!
PO NUI, SUMA ARUMA, PUN MAY CHILE!
THANKS TO YOU, TO ALL THE PEOPLE, TO ALL THE PEOPLES OF CHILE
First of all, I would like to thank all the Chilean men and women who went to vote on this day, honouring their commitment to democracy. In the harsh and noble North. In the rainy and windy South. In the hot and fertile center. In Rapa Nui, Juan Fernández and the Chilean Antarctic. Abroad.
It does not matter if they did it for me or for my opponent: the important thing is that they did it, that they were present, that they showed their commitment to this country that belongs to everyone. Also, of course, to the thousands of people who wanted to attend to vote and could not do so due to the lack of public transportation. It cannot happen again that on such an important day people are deprived of exercising their right to vote.
Also to those who made this beautiful campaign possible. Independents, social organizations and parties, to all the people who in recent weeks have organized throughout Chile and abroad, from Magallanes to Arica, from Visviri to Puerto Toro to raise a citizen campaign that has allowed this triumph. The same commitment and enthusiasm will be necessary during the years of our government so that, together, we can sustain the process of changes that we have already begun to go through, step by step.
Thanks to my campaign manager, Dr. Izkia Siches, for having put everything and more into this candidacy, with so much love, so much energy and so much desire. To all the technical teams that joined this proposal, to each of the independents and parties that made this campaign possible.
Thanks to the boys and girls who throughout this trip filled us with love and hope, with beautiful drawings that expressed with innocence and hope the Chile they dream of. A green and loving Chile, that takes care of nature and animals, that recovers the public squares of the neighbourhoods to be able to play, a Chile where mothers and fathers have more time to spend with their children and where their grandparents are not alone in this stage of his life. We have looked into the eyes of the children of Chile and I know that we cannot fail them.
Thanks to the women of the country. That they organized all over Chile to defend the rights that have been so hard for them to achieve. From the right to vote to the right to decide on their own body.
From the right to non-discrimination based on the type of family that they have decided to form, to recognition for the care tasks they carry out today. Count on us. You will be the protagonists of our government. Also to the dissidents and diversities that have long been discriminated against and in this campaign saw the little progress they have made threatened. In our government, non-discrimination and stopping violence against diversities and women, along with feminist organizations, will be fundamental.
I also thank the Servel for their impeccable work. It symbolizes the State we need: effective, impartial, fair. To the national and regional media, for taking information to the most remote places. The free press is the essential foundation of democracy and you are its vehicle.
I want to thank all the candidates who participated in this election, because finally we make democracy together, and we need each one. To Yasna Provoste, Sebastián Sichel, Marco Enriquez Ominami, Franco Parisi, Eduardo Artes and José Antonio Kast. The future of Chile needs us all on the same side, on the side of the people and I hope to count on your support, your ideas and proposals to start my government. I know that beyond the differences we have, in particular with José Antonio Kast, we will know how to build bridges between us so that our compatriots can live better. Because what does unite us is love for Chile and its people.
And of course, thanks to my family, my father and my mother, my two brothers, my grandparents who are gone. To my traveling companion Irina. You are my pillars in the dark days and the ones responsible for my being here today.
They already know. I come from Magallanes, in the extreme south of Chile, almost touching Antarctica. I am 35 years old.
And I know that history does not start with us. I feel like heir to a long historical trajectory, that of those who, from different positions, have tirelessly sought social justice, the expansion of democracy, the defence of human rights, the protection of freedoms. This is my big family, whom I would like to see reunited again in this stage that we are now beginning.
Compatriots, I will be the president of all Chileans. Of those who today voted for this project, of those who chose another alternative and also of those who did not attend to vote.
The times to come will not be easy. We will have to face the social, economic and health consequences of the worst pandemic that our country has experienced in more than a century. It will be difficult, no doubt, but we are going to advance with short but firm steps, learning from our history.
Because Chile has a short history as a national state: barely two centuries of independent life, but rich in experiences of achievements, mistakes, successes and frustrations. Of beautiful and difficult moments. And we have learned from that experience. Today we can be more sure than before about some things:
That economic growth based on inequality has feet of clay: that only with social cohesion, reuniting and sharing a common ground, can we move towards true and sustained development that reaches every Chilean family and also includes SMEs that with so much effort is raised by honourable men and women throughout the national territory.
That destabilizing democratic institutions leads directly to the reign of abuse, the law of the jungle, and the suffering and helplessness of the weakest. We are going to take care of democracy, each day, every day.
That for progress to be solid, it must be the result of broad agreements. And that to last, they must always be step by step, gradual, so as not to derail or risk what each family has achieved with their effort.
That respect for human rights should always and everywhere be an unwavering commitment and that never, for any reason, should a president declare war on his own people. Truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition.
And there are many challenges that we will have to face. Timely health that does not discriminate between rich and poor, improving equal access, quality and response times. Worthy pensions for those who have worked all their lives making our Chile great and cannot be kept waiting, and growth and a fair distribution of wealth must go hand in hand. There is the drama of homelessness and access to basic services that we must address. Strengthen public education, guarantee the rights of workers to build a country with Decent Work and better wages, create a national system of care that recognizes and values the women they care for today, also advancing in co-responsibility and leaving behind the patriarchal inheritance of our society.
The security emergency that we are experiencing, make neighbourhoods safer and drug-free places, put culture in the place it deserves and not as a caboose, dignifying its workers, expanding sports, promoting science, moving towards a new relationship with indigenous peoples, recognizing their right to look at the world from other linguistic and cultural perspectives, and paying special attention to caring for the environment will be part of our tasks.
Because climate change, dear compatriots, is not an invention. It is here, and it has direct effects on our lives and those of future generations. It is no coincidence that it is the young people of the world who have raised their voices, from Greta to Julieta, in the face of irrational powers. We cannot look aside when our peasants and farmers, when entire towns, do not have water or when unique ecosystems are destroyed and could have been avoided.
Of course, not everything can be done at the same time and we will have to prioritize to make progress that will allow us to improve, step by step, the lives of our people. It will not be easy, it will not be quick, but our commitment is to move on that path with hope and responsibility.
Chileans, men and women,
We have come this far with a government project that can be synthesized in a few simple words: moving forward responsibly with the changes that Chile has been demanding, without leaving anyone behind. This means growing economically; convert what some understand as consumer goods into social rights, guarantee a calmer and safer life, deepen the freedoms of all, and especially of women: in our government women will not see a regression of the rights and freedoms they have achieved throughout history.
Our project also means advancing in more democracy and, of course, and as we have already said here, taking care of the constituent process, a source of world pride and the only way to build, in democracy and with everyone, a better country. For the first time in our history we are writing a Constitution in a democratic, joint manner, with the participation of native peoples. Let us all take care of this process to have a Magna Carta that is one of coming together and not one of division.
We will work as a team with all sectors. The challenges are too important to be tied to the trenches. Here we are all necessary. The workers who forge the wealth of our country every day. The cooperation of the business world, build alliances, bring approaches closer. If we are here, it is to ensure that prosperity reaches every corner of our land, and for that no one is superfluous.
On this night of triumph, I repeat the commitment we made throughout the campaign: we will expand social rights and we will do so with fiscal responsibility, we will do so while taking care of our macro economy. We will do well and will improve pensions and health without going backwards in the future.
We will have a balanced Congress, which in turn means an invitation and an obligation to dialogue. I honestly see it as an opportunity to meet again, to unite in great deeds for the welfare of our country, to achieve broad and lasting agreements that improve the quality of life of our compatriots. I trust in the responsibility of all political forces to maintain differences within the framework of ideas, always put the common good first, and clearly and unambiguously reject violence in politics and in our life in society. Know that in me, you will find a president open to listening and incorporating different views, being also receptive to constructive criticism that helps us improve.
Chileans,
I receive this mandate with humility. I know that in the years ahead the future of our country is at stake. That is why I guarantee you from now on that I will be a president who takes care of democracy and does not expose it to danger, who listens more than he talks; who seeks unity of agreements and who attends, day by day, to the needs of the people; who fights privilege and works every day for the quality of life of your family.
Today is a day of great happiness, but above all of great responsibility, the work that we have ahead of us is enormous, and we need everyone. We have to continue being one, we have to continue meeting to carry out the changes that the country so badly needs.
We will do so, ruling with all the people. Adding ideas, opening doors, building bridges. This is how we will go, step by step, building the just homeland little by little, day by day.
That is why tonight we must celebrate, but we will do it calmly. Go home with the healthy joy of the clean victory achieved. I ask of you, let us take care of this triumph, from tomorrow we will have a lot to work to do to reunite, heal wounds, and walk towards a better future.
With hope intact.
With the awareness of the challenges we have before us.
I say goodbye to you with a giant hug, I will leave the best of me
Thank you very much.
We will continue.