Boric, the former student leader who seeks to end the Chilean capitalist model

“If Chile was the cradle of the neoliberal, it will also be its grave”, Was one of the most outstanding phrases of the victory speech of Gabriel Boric in the July primaries, which made him the candidate of the coalition between the leftist Frente Amplio and the Communist Party.

At just 35 years old, the graduate -although not graduated- in Law from the University of Chile seeks to become the youngest elected president of the world’s largest copper producer.

Despite achieving almost the limit to register the 35,000 signatures that endorsed his candidacy, he comfortably beat the popular capital mayor Daniel Jade -of the Communist Party- to be the letter of the conglomerate.

“Do not be afraid of the youth to change this country“, He said in his speech when he won the candidacy of the bloc I approve of Dignity.

With his candidacy for the chair of the palace of La Moneda, his old image with disheveled hair and a very thick beard that identified him from his time as president of the Federation of Students of the University of Chile was left behind.

Originally from Punta Arenas, in the extreme south of Chile, was one of the leaders of the student protests that erupted in 2011 during the first government of Sebastián Piñera demanding improvements in the quality of education and the advancement of free education.

Despite his conviction to move forward in changing the capitalist economic model that has ruled Chile in recent decades, some of his allies do not support his conciliatory tone.

During the campaign he has been the target of those who consider that he has little experience for the relevance of the position, which has even led to errors in handling various financial figures.

“The important thing for us is that when I make a mistake regarding the figures, we will have a team that supports us.”, He said after the questions.

He has also been criticized for the support that the Communist Party has given to the Venezuelan government, but the young candidate has distanced himself by calling for human rights to be respected.

The current deputy was harshly criticized by his allies for integrating and signing the “Agreement for Social Peace and the New Constitution”, Adopted in November 2019 after the outbreak and which gave way to the process of rewriting the Constitution, currently advancing.

“What I am convinced is that to do politics one has to be willing to sit down and talk, firmly debate with those who think differently from one, because staying in the comfort of speaking only with those who think the same as one can be satisfactory, but not transform reality”He told La Tercera newspaper at the end of 2019.

The leadership in the polls is disputed with the right-wing former legislator José Antonio Kast, supported by supporters of the late dictator Augusto Pinochet.

JP Morgan He considered in a report that the chances of Boric being defeated are low and highlighted the “moderation” he has shown in some aspects of his speech.

The firm cited the example of Peru, where the leftist Pedro Castillo, who proposed radical changes, has moderated after coming to power.

Although at one point he raised concerns by stating that his eventual government would review the trade treaties that the country has signed, later his team said that it would not be done unilaterally and would rather seek “modernize them“To the current context and remove conditions”disadvantageous”.

Almost in the final stretch of the campaign, Boric had to suspend his activities for a week and undergo quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, which also hurt three other candidates who shared with him in a debate, although none were infected .