In a country shocked by the fires that devastated large areas of Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, Chile woke up this Wednesday in mourning after the surprising death of former Chilean president Sebastián Piñera, who died in a helicopter accident, and whose remains began to be laid to rest this very day. Wednesday
in the Hall of Honor of the former National Congress,
in the Chilean capital.
After the arrival of the body to Santiago from Valdivia, around noon there will be a private ceremony in the former Congress that will be attended by
a small number of family and friends.
In the afternoon, the doors of what was the headquarters of the Legislature in Santiago - since that power currently operates in the city of Valparaíso -
will open so that the general public
can say goodbye to the former president.
The wake will continue on Thursday, and
on Friday the remains will be transferred to La Moneda and then to the Metropolitan Cathedral
, in the Plaza de Armas of the capital, for the celebration of tributes.
Chileans leave floral and symbolic offerings at the entrance to Piñera's house in Las Condes in Santiago (Chile).
Photo: EFE
Finally, the response and burial will be on Friday at the Parque del memoria cemetery in Huechuraba, the newspaper UChile published.
Piñera (2010-14 and 2018-22) died at the age of 74 in a helicopter accident that occurred in the commune of Lago Ranco, in the south of the country.
The device, piloted by the former president,
fell into a lake in the midst of strong inclement weather
and
Piñera sank in the waters inside the helicopter
, since he was not able to unfasten his seat belt and eject, as three men who were traveling could do. with the.
The main protagonist of local politics in the last 20 years, Piñera
had lights and shadows
during his two administrations, and although the last mass memory of his time in the Government was tinged with blood due to the
fierce repression he ordered against the protests citizens in 2019,
in what went down in history as the "social explosion" that also triggered his popularity as ruler,
he was able to complete his mandate
and handed over power to the current president, Gabriel Boric, in 2022.
State Funeral
The state funeral will be on Friday morning at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago, Chilean Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren announced this Wednesday.
"Once the mass is over, the remains will be transferred to the Parque del memoria Cemetery, but not before passing in front of La Moneda, where
a tribute will be paid to them by the palace guard and the president
of the Republic, Gabriel Boric," said the chancellor, who assured that he still has no confirmation of the international leaders who will attend the ceremony.
Image from December 18, 2017 of the then Chilean president-elect, Sebastián Piñera.
Photo: Xinhua/Jorge Villegas
The helicopter in which the president was traveling, along with three other people who managed to save themselves, crashed this Tuesday around 3:30 p.m. Argentine time shortly after taking off over Lake Ranco
, a tourist resort located 780 kilometers to the south. from Santiago
, where he used to spend summers with his family.
The news has generated a great commotion in Chile, a country hit by devastating fires that left more than 100 dead.
Numerous international leaders have expressed their condolences for the death of the president, who governed Chile between 2010-2104 and 2018-22.
With information from EFE