4 days before the 50th anniversary of the country’s coup, politicians come together against “authoritarian threats”
The President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, and four other former presidents of the country met this Thursday (September 7, 2023) to sign the “Commitment to Democracy,” a document aimed at combating “authoritarian threats.” Here is the full text (PDF 707 kB).
The other signatories of the text are:
- Eduardo Frei RuizTagle (19942000);
- Ricardo Lagos (20002006);
- Michelle Bachelet (20062010/20142018); It is
- Sebastián Piñera (20102014/20182022).
With the exception of Piñera, who identifies as centerright, everyone else is centerleft. Boric, the current president, is a member of the leftwing Unidad para Chile party.
The document states that politicians commit to “addressing the problems of democracy with more democracy” and “promoting dialogue and peaceful resolution” of problems that arise.
The publication of the text comes four days before the 50th anniversary of the coup in Chile in 1973. “We must take care of memory,” the text says.
The Chilean dictatorship was one of the most violent in Latin America. Government data shows that over 17 years, more than 3,200 people died or disappeared and about 40,000 were tortured.
The document signed this Thursday states that the coup “cost many people their lives, dignity and freedom”. Alberto Bachelet, father of Michelle Bachelet, one of the signatories of the text, was one of the victims. As an air force general and opponent of the coup, he was tortured and killed.