In person, Boric is warm and quick to laugh, but he’s not relaxed. “I think that as a society we should aspire to forms of organization that go beyond capitalism, but it’s not like I can say, ‘Capitalism ends today,’” Boric says, rapping the table with his knuckles, in a brief imitation of more militant figures. And although he became famous in Chile in his 20s as a shaggy-haired, radical student leader, today’s Boric is no firebrand-even if some may want him to be. Boric says those issues are a core part of his progressive ideology. An older generation of Latin American leftists, including many still active today, have often made troubling sacrifices-disregarding the environment, democracy, or human rights-in pursuit of a socialist society. The largest, Brazil, may join them after October elections.īut Boric is also something new. After a decade of right-wing domination, leftists have recently won power in five of Latin America’s six largest economies, many on platforms to fight inequality. “But I wake up every morning excited to keep working on this.” Photograph by Luján Agusti for TIMEīoric’s rise is part of a regional shift to the left. “It’s a lot of responsibility, for sure,” Boric says after arriving at his bright, cluttered office in La Moneda, Chile’s presidential palace. Supporters, including Boric, say it would make Chile a more democratic country and guarantee equality for marginalized groups opponents say it would destroy the economy.Īnd so the millennial President finds himself guiding his country through a kind of midlife crisis. 4 referendum, Chileans will vote on whether to approve a new constitution that offers sweeping progressive reforms, from a new health system to tighter controls on the mining industry. Five months into his term, it’s crunch time: in a Sept. He was elected in December 2021, promising to lead Chile’s transition into the fairer country demanded by protesters. Read More: Read the Transcript of TIME’s Interview With Chile’s President Gabriel Boricīoric, Chile’s most left-wing leader in half a century, owes his presidency to that upheaval. Then politicians agreed to replace Chile’s constitution, a dictatorship-era document that underpins its market-driven economic system. In 2019, anger erupted: a small subway-fare hike set off massive, messy, months-long protests over inequality. That narrative, however, concealed a long-simmering anger among many ordinary Chileans who, with little government support and expensive private services, struggle to make ends meet. For decades, Chile was touted as Latin America’s economic success story, with a business-friendly, small-government model creating relative wealth, and political stability, for its 19 million inhabitants. Since taking office in March, Chile’s youngest-ever leader has been shepherding his country through a moment of historic uncertainty.
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As the car rolls through city streets, windows down, pedestrians spot him on his way to work and let out whoops or an affectionate “Presi!” Boric laughs and waves, but then bows his head to nervously scan the front pages of Chile’s newspapers. It’s a cold morning in mid-August-winter in Santiago-and the Chilean President is enveloped in a slightly-too-long gray coat, making him look even younger than his 36 years.
Gabriel Boric climbs into the back of the gigantic black SUV waiting outside his house. Gabriel Boric is championing a new constitution that promises sweeping social change. Boric settled in this historic and low income neighborhood of the city of Santiago after assuming the presidency. SHARE Luján Agusti for TIME President Gabriel Boric walks down a street in the Yungay neighborhood, Aug.
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