Gabriel Boric, former student activist, elected as Chile's youngest president

Gabriel Boric, leftist lawmaker and former student activist has won Chile's Presidential Elections 2021. He beat right-wing candidate Jose Antonio Kast in Chile's presidential runoff with 56 percent votes on December 19, 2021, becoming Chile's youngest President ever. 

The 35-year-old had come to the limelight in 2011 when he had led the student protests demanding better education. During his presidential campaign, he had promised to address economic inequality, boost green investment and raise taxes on the rich. 

He had also promised to bring about a welfare state so that everyone has the same rights no matter how much money they have in their wallet.

Boric had just met the required minimum age to run in the presidential race. It comes seven years after he was first elected as a member of Chile's Chamber of Deputies.

Significance

Chile has one of the world's biggest income gaps, as about one percent of the country's population owns 25 percent of the total wealth.

Most of the citizens in the country are heavily indebted and have to pay wholly or at least partly for education and healthcare. Pensions are also made up of private savings.

Boric had said during the Presidential campaign, "If Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism in Latin America, it will also be its grave." Chile's neoliberal economic model was widely seen as sidelining the poor and working classes.

Mind-blowing scenes in Santiago, where hundreds of thousands have flocked onto the streets to celebrate Gabriel Boric's victory pic.twitter.com/uirvG1mVBg

— John Bartlett (@jwbartlett92) December 20, 2021

Boric had made the following promises during his campaign trail-

-To reduce work week from 45 to 40 hours

-To advance "green development"

-To create 500,000 jobs for women

-To reform Chile's pension and healthcare systems to promote access for the poor.

About Gabriel Boric

• Gabriel Boric was born in Chile's far south in Punta Arenas. He studied law but never sat for the bar exam. He is unmarried.

• He will be by far Chile's most liberal leader after late President Salvador Allende, whose death in 1973 military coup had resulted in a brutal 17-year dictatorship. 

• Boric has promised to produce real change in society by eliminating existing injustices. 

• The former student leader had backed the 2019 anti-government revolt, which had prompted a referendum that resulted in a process to rewrite Chile's pro-business, dictatorship-era constitution.

• He had also led student protests to demand free schooling in 2011.