Boric, three years after the Chilean social outbreak: "It was a cry for greater justice, equality and an end to abuse"

Protesters clash with the police in the center of Santiago, Chile, during the commemoration of the third anniversary of the revolts of October 18, 2019.Cristobal Escobar (AP)

Commemorating three years of the social explosion in Chile on October 18, 2019, the riots that marked the destiny of Chilean politics and its people, a day marked by reflections and intellectual debates has been lived.

A day also marked by interruptions in transport in the capital, less traffic than usual, the early closing of shops and the concern of citizens to get home early due to the risk of riots.

In the morning, from La Moneda, President Gabriel Boric referred to the social outburst: "Three years ago, thousands of people demonstrated expressing long-standing discomfort that called for greater Justice, equality and an end to abuses." assured the president, marking his position regarding what happened, which in Chile continues to be an open debate.

In a solo speech from the Government Palace, Boric assured that during the last three years the different political sectors have tried interpretations about October 2019 and the subsequent events -massive demonstrations and a lot of violence-, but that these readings seek to "reaffirm our prior beliefs and convictions.

"October 18 should challenge us all and, instead, we have used it as a reason to reaffirm what we already thought before," added Boric, referring to the heated debate between leaders of public opinion.

While for some the social tension is explained by the shortcomings of the Chilean model and an outcry against inequality at different levels, for others, such as the analyst Carlos Peña, it is about complex phenomena such as the generational issue and the appearance of social groups. media and not "an impoverished mass in the hands of a small group of abusers who suddenly rebelled."

For Boric, according to his speech this morning, “it is time for us to leave our

to interpret what happened there, the lessons we must draw from this process and act.

The outbreak was not an anti-capitalist revolution and neither, as they have wanted to install in recent days, a pure wave of crime.

It was an expression of pain and fractures in our society that politics, of which we are a part, has not been able to interpret or respond, ”the president continued at a complex moment in his term.

On September 4, 62% of the population rejected the constitutional proposal of the convention, contrary to what the Government was pushing, and the popularity of the president is today at the lowest level since he took office on March 11. : 27% approve of his management, while 65% disapprove.

“The social outbreak expressed and brought with it a lot of pain and has left huge consequences.

We will not allow it to be in vain.

As a society we cannot be the same after this experience.

We cannot make the same mistakes or stay cornered on our comfortable sidewalks," continued Boric, who called on all political sectors, citizens and the business world to "do the same."

In a day where incidents hitherto isolated and focused on the capital – there was a false bomb warning, traffic cuts, installation of barricades at ground zero in Santiago de Chile, Plaza Italia, and several interruptions in the metro network –, Boric referred to "human rights violations such as eye damage, sexual assault and even death": "They are not acceptable," he said.

Along with this, however, the president said that “Carabineros have our full support to combat crime and ensure public order.

There is no dichotomy between the two positions and we are going to defend it," said the leader of a government that has found it especially complex to address the control of violence, precisely because of the positions they have expressed since the social outbreak of 2019,

At a particularly convulsive moment for Chilean politics, when white smoke has not come out from the different forces with a view to an agreement for a new constituent process, Boric called for dialogue.

"The people of Chile do not want to see us fighting, but solving," he assured, on a new anniversary of the outbreak, the first that Boric and his political generation have experienced since La Moneda.

“Politics must live up to the demands and dreams of the entire country.

Let's not forget that the great majority expect us to come to an agreement to solve their urgent daily problems, the rise in the cost of living, delinquency, homelessness, the opportunity of health.

This is the time to act,” said Boric,

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