Chile’s current president Gabriel Boric and former presidents Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Ricardo Lagos, Michelle Bachelet and Sebastián Piñera, on September 7, signed a document titled ‘Commitment: For Democracy, Always’ as a part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1973 US-backed coup d’état against the socialist government of President Salvador Allende.
In the document, the leaders committed, despite political differences, to care for and defend democracy, face the challenges of democracy, defend and promote human rights, and strengthen spaces for collaboration among states.
“Our country enjoyed for more than 140 years, almost without interruption, a continuously evolving democracy, a stable constitutional order, and also respectable and solid republican institutions that were the object of admiration and prestige throughout the world. On the 50th anniversary of the violent breakdown of democracy in Chile that cost the lives, dignity and freedom of so many people…we want, beyond our legitimate differences, to jointly commit ourselves to taking care of and defending democracy, respecting the Constitution, the laws and the rule of law,” read the statement signed by the leaders, who governed the country after the return of democracy in 1990.
The leaders vowed to “face the challenges of democracy with more democracy, condemn violence, and encourage dialogue and peaceful solution of differences.” They also pledged to “make the defense and promotion of human rights a value shared by the entire political and social community, without placing any ideology before its unconditional respect.” They promised to “strengthen the spaces for collaboration among states through a mature multilateralism that is respectful of differences, and that establishes and pursues the common objectives necessary for the sustainable development of the societies.”
The leaders also called on all political leaders to “take care of memory, because it is the anchor of the democratic future demanded by our people.”
🇨🇱 Ex Presidentes de la República Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Ricardo lagos Escobar, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Sebastián Piñera Echenique y el Presidente @GabrielBoric, suscriben compromiso #DemocraciaSiempre pic.twitter.com/SN3rAt0uXb
— Presidencia de Chile (@Presidencia_cl) September 7, 2023
This September 11 will mark 50 years since the coup d’état that overthrew the democratically elected socialist government of President Salvador Allende and installed the brutal military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. The Pinochet regime was characterized by systematic suppression of political parties and persecution of all dissidents. During the military rule, between 1973 and 1990, more than 3,000 people were killed, about 1,200 disappeared, over 30,000 were tortured and 200,000 went into exile.
On Monday, an official act to pay tribute to the first progressive president in Latin America and the victims of Chile’s last dictatorship, will be held at the La Moneda palace. Leftist leaders from across the region, such as Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and Argentine President Alberto Fernández are expected to attend the event.
Several human rights organizations, social movements, trade unions and progressive groups will also march in the capital Santiago to demand justice for the victims and an end to impunity enjoyed by the military officials involved in the cases of grave human rights violations. Their march on Sunday September 10 to the tomb of Salvador Allende was repressed by the Carabineros with tear gas.
AHORA| Carabineros ingresa con sus carros al Cementerio General en medio de la romería en conmemoración a los 50 años del golpe cívico – militar.@_AlexisPolo pic.twitter.com/libcgdC1ak
— La Voz De Los Que Sobran (@delosquesobran) September 10, 2023
