VALPARAÍSO, Chile — Leftist former student leader
Gabriel Boric, 36, was sworn in Friday as Chile's youngest-ever president.
اضافة اعلان
"Before the people of Chile, I do
swear," Boric said as he took the oath in Valparaiso, the seat of
Congress, for a four-year term replacing conservative leader Sebastian Pinera.
Boric takes over the reins of a country
clamoring for change following mass protests in 2019, which he supported,
against deep-rooted inequality in income, healthcare, education and pensions.
The revolt, which left dozens dead and
hundreds injured, was the catalyst for a process now under way to rewrite
Chile's dictatorship-era constitution.
Boric has vowed to relegate "to the
grave" Chile's neoliberal economic model, which dates from the era of
military despot Augusto Pinochet and is widely seen as sidelining the poor and
working classes.
He has vowed to turn the country into a
greener, more egalitarian "welfare state."
A lawmaker since 2014, millennial Boric
inherits an economy ravaged by the coronavirus outbreak.
He has promised to introduce European-style
social democracy to
Chile, boosting taxes to pay for social reform, and all
while putting the brakes on spiraling debt.
He will tackle these challenges with a
cabinet comprised mainly of women and young people — their average age is 42.
More than 20 international guests were
confirmed to attend the investiture ceremony, including Alberto Fernandez and
Pedro Castillo — the presidents of neighboring Argentina and Peru — King Felipe
VI of Spain, and famed Chilean author Isabel Allende.
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