Ricardo Lagos announces his retirement from public life at the age of 85: “I will contribute to Chile from a more intimate space”

The socialist Ricardo Lagos, 85 years old, who governed Chile between 2000 and 2006, this Tuesday announced his decision made a few months ago together with his family and political circle: his retirement from public life and the closure of his municipal office. of Providencia, in the Chilean capital, where the Democracy and Development Foundation has operated for years.

He reported this through a video posted on his account on the social network that Chile and the world have ahead of them,” said Lagos, the first socialist to arrive at La Moneda after the overthrow of Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973.

I share with you this declaration with which I retire from public life.

At 85 years old, a period of transformation begins in my way of contributing from a more intimate space, always attentive to the challenges that Chile and the world have ahead of them https://t.co/4pom2KKUU1

— Ricardo Lagos E. (@RicardoLagos) January 30, 2024

He was one of the leaders of the opposition to the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, he pushed the boundaries of what the Chilean left believed possible, although that - Lagos is recognized by the use of the word

that

- is often forgotten.

He made a Government that had multiple challenges from different fronts.

With an economic crisis whose effects marked his first years of administration, with a political and economic right distrustful of the arrival of the left to power, with Augusto Pinochet still alive, with an Armed Forces that did not shake off the legacy of the dictatorship and with a Chile with great inequalities.

He came to power with the slogan of

growing with equality

and managed to combine economic growth with greater social justice, along with large-scale cultural gestures.

Despite the problems that marked his administration - the cases of corruption, the internal tensions of the Concertación, the first symptoms of social unrest - he did what no one has achieved since his Government: pass the presidential sash to someone of the same political affiliation. , Michelle Bachelet.

And although he left the Government 18 years ago, Lagos has continued to be a leading actor in Chilean politics.

He showed it in his last interview with EL PAÍS, at the beginning of last November, when in this newspaper he announced that he would vote against a proposal for a new Constitution in the December plebiscite.

His diagnosis is that in Chile “we do not create great consensus in politics, so that the country can once again have the leadership it had in recent decades.”

Lagos has said that “nearly turning 86”—which he turns in March—he has “learned to value the wisdom and perspective that these years” have given him, “despite some physical abilities that have diminished.”

It is one of the reasons why he made the decision: although until recently he continued traveling around the world to the meetings of the former presidents grouped in The Elders - he could go to Asia only with a short stopover in Europe -, in August he suffered a fall on his plot of Caleu that made him rethink whether he was in a position to continue at the same pace.

“The time has come to leave my participation in the public sphere.

It is a change in my life, it is a new chapter that is opening, it is a period of transformation in my way of serving and building a better Chile that we all build together,” announced Lagos, whose Government is once again valued in Chile after after years of harsh criticism, especially from the new generation of the left today in power.

Despite this, Lagos, without being asked, gave his support to Gabriel Boric in the 2021 presidential election.

“Today's world is experiencing an epochal change of enormous transformations.

The Digital Revolution has not yet been expressed in all its magnitude and the social, economic and political changes that it implies are developing rapidly.

Because we are going through a complex period, it is necessary to make many efforts to change course and return to a more auspicious path for humanity.

I want our national history, both regional and global, to be a shared story, in which we are able to peacefully channel disagreements and aspire to a fair, supportive, free and democratic future," Lagos said in the video, where he took advantage of thank his wife, Luisa Durán, and his family, his fellow travelers, the academy, social organizations, unions, international organizations, the Government and the private world.

And to the people: “I want to take this moment to thank you.

Thank the Chileans who joined the permanent project, thinking about making Chile great,” said Lagos.

The former president has announced this new path, although, very much in his style, he assured: “I will not remain silent if I think I can make a contribution.”

“I will continue with you, I will continue taking care of myself, learning and writing.

The convictions and hopes for a better Chile always remain.

With a heart full of gratitude and hope, I firmly and courageously invite you to pursue our shared dreams.

The best is yet to come and only together we can build it,” said Lagos, before saying goodbye with a “thank you.”

The political world, of the ruling party and the opposition, have reacted to the former president's announcement.

Among the messages published on social networks appeared that of one of his sons, Senator Ricardo Lagos Weber.

Lagos, there have been many years of work to build a better, less unequal, more democratic society and always seeking the best for our country and society... A kiss and my eternal admiration @RicardoLagos https://t.co/fxreVDdEqd

— Ricardo Lagos Weber (@lagosweber) January 30, 2024

The figure of President Lagos only increases with the passage of time.

From @PPD_Chile, his party, we wish him the best in this new stage with his family.

We know that he will always be available to contribute with his wise advice and vision about the Chile of the 21st century.

https://t.co/yKidgMxywT

— Jaime Quintana (@senadorquintana) January 30, 2024

I had the privilege of working with you as Chancellor.

It was a great experience, I learned from his knowledge of the world, from the courage to make difficult decisions, from his quality as a statesman at the national and international level.

What pride for Chile.

Thank you President!

— Soledad Alvear (@soledadalvear) January 30, 2024

I recognize former President Lagos as a statesman, who until today has been willing to help and contribute to the country.

Without a doubt, he marked history and was an important part of Chile's progress.

Many will be grateful for his work.

A big hug for @RicardoLagos pic.twitter.com/316H1KtYCE

— Evelyn Matthei (@evelynmatthei) January 30, 2024

You should be proud, and rightly so, of your #30 years.

Furthermore, largely thanks to you, it was never accepted in Chile that human rights were relativized.

I hope presidents with a vision of the State return, anywhere on the spectrum.

— Alfredo Sepúlveda (@asepulveda) January 30, 2024

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