The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, met on Friday with his predecessor, the conservative Sebastián Piñera, with the aim of promoting a common declaration between the different political forces on the 50th anniversary of the coup d'état. The meeting took place in the presidential palace of La Moneda when only ten days remain until the commemoration of the military coup against the democratically elected president Salvador Allende, which is reopening the polarization in Chile.
In July, Boric announced his intention to promote a common declaration, an initiative that is head-on opposed by both the traditional right-wing Chile Vamos - the coalition with which Piñera governed - and the far-right Republican Party, led by José Antonio Kast.
"The intention of the president [Boric] is to build transversal consensus in our country and for this, obviously, the former presidents are key, because they have had to lead complex processes", explained the spokesperson of the Government, Camila Vallejo. The spokeswoman added that "regardless of political differences", it is important to commit to defending democracy and human rights "always, under any circumstances".
"We believe that it is essential that this [the declaration] is not just a matter for the Government, but that it is also a matter for all the political sectors", explained Vallejo.
September 11 marks 50 years since General Augusto Pinochet led a coup against the government of Socialist President Salvador Allende (1970-1973), who committed suicide in the presidential palace of La Moneda before being caught by the military, who bombed the building at will.
The coup was the beginning of a cruel dictatorship that lasted 17 years and that claimed more than 40,000 victims, including at least 3,200 murdered opponents, of whom 1,469 were victims of enforced disappearance. After the meeting, Piñera stated that "many mistakes were made during and after September 11, 1973", in the military regime, but also during Allende's Popular Unity government.
"This is what we want to prevent from happening again", emphasized the former president, who was willing to support the declaration sought by the Executive and asked to contribute "between now and September 11 to unite all Chileans and not to divide them".
Piñera, who governed during the non-consecutive terms of 2010-2014 and 2018-2022, added that the commemoration of the coup "is a very good opportunity for us in Chile to renew our total and absolute commitment to democracy, the Constitution , respect for the rule of law (...) and the condemnation of all kinds of violence".
