In March 2026, when his government has ended, Gabriel Boric will perhaps be able to write his memoirs of four turbulent years at the head of Chile. If he is sincere in what he says, this book will serve as a valuable lesson for many politicians, because what the Chilean president had to go through in a few years is not exactly typical. His current mood? “Ball on the floor, humility and a lot of work,” he summarized in a soccer metaphor.
The social outbreak of October 2019 found Boric as a combative left-wing deputy, but he soon revealed a pragmatic and negotiating side that led him to agree with the conservative Sebastián Piñera, at the head of La Moneda at the time, to design a way out of the explosive political situation. The way out was a new Constitution, a historic demand of the left, which could not understand how the country continued to be governed by a document born in 1980 under the auspices of the dictator Augusto Pinochet.
But what then seemed like a transversal demand, supported in 2020 by 80 percent of voters, in 2023 became tired. Nobody wants to hear about constitutional change anymore, and neither does Boric, promoter and victim of the process. He needs to govern, he needs to take care of the things that really matter to people.
“With this, during this mandate, the constitutional process is closed. The emergencies are different,” said the 37-year-old president, who intends to focus on combating growing urban crime and relaunching a stagnant economy.
“Our country will continue with the current Constitution because after two plebiscite constitutional proposals, none managed to represent and unite Chile in its beautiful diversity,” added the head of state, who called for the extremes to sit down and talk. If he achieves this, he will have taken a big step in a notably polarized Chile, but in which the manners and education among political representatives remain at a level not usual in most countries in the region.
While rebuilding his personal life – he separated weeks ago from his partner, Irina Karamanos -, Boric has the challenge of keeping together the broad and contradictory conglomerate of the left and of offering a clear alternative to a scattered and partly unpredictable right after the failure. by José Antonio Kast in the plebiscite.