Summary 2021: The 10 news items that marked the year in Chile

The electoral triumph of the leftist Gabriel Boric, the attempt to remove President Piñera after the Pandora Papers scandal, the installation of the convention that drafts a new Constitution, and the early withdrawal of millions of dollars from pension funds are some of the events that marked this 2021 in Chile.

1.- TRIUMPH OF GABRIEL BORIC

On December 19, the 35-year-old young leftist and current deputy for Magellan, Gabriel Boric, became the president-elect of Chile after defeating the far-right José Antonio Kast by a large majority in a ballot that was anticipated close and marked by a high social seizure.

LOOK: Gabriel Boric beats Kast in a resounding way and leads a change of era in Chile | PHOTOS

Boric will assume the first magistracy of the South American country at the age of 36, becoming the youngest president in Chilean history and surpassing the record holder, Manuel Blanco Encalada (July 1826-September 1826).

Gabriel Boric celebrates his triumph in the second round of the Chilean presidential elections. (MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP).

2.- ACCUSATION AGAINST SEBASTIÁN PIÑERA

For the second time since he assumed the Chilean Presidency in 2018, Sebastián Piñera faced in October a process of impeachment promoted by the opposition, this time as a result of the revelations of the Pandora Pandora investigation that pointed out to him for the sale of a mining megaproject in a tax haven.

• Gabriel Boric: this is the left that will govern Chile and this will be the role that the Communist Party will play
• Boric says his future government in Chile will prioritize the Pacific Alliance
• The restrictions that Chile announced for 1.6 million people without a booster vaccine against the coronavirus

Although it was rejected for not having the votes in the Senate, the fact hit the downright administration of the right-wing, while the Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation for possible tax crimes and bribery in the sale of the Dominga project to the businessman and friend of the Carlos Alberto Délano presidential family, conditional on the affected area not being declared of environmental protection, a decision that depended on Piñera.

3.- THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

The 155 elected members of the Chilean Constitutional Convention, the first joint constituent body in the world and with the presence of native peoples, began in early July the drafting of the new Fundamental Charter, which will replace the current one imposed during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973 -1990).

During the same opening day, on July 4, the conventional elected as president of the organization Elisa Loncón, an indigenous woman, academic, linguist and activist of the Mapuche people, who until today directs the work of the space and was highlighted worldwide as one of the most influential women of the year.

Constituent elect Elisa Loncon attends the former Chilean Congress for the first session of the Constitutional Convention. (Photo by JAVIER TORRES / AFP). (JAVIER TORRES /)

4.- SECOND HELLO OF COVID-19

Unlike the first wave of the coronavirus, which hit the Chilean population between May and June 2020, the second lasted a couple of months and forced the authorities to decree a new lockdown in most of the country.

By the end of April, intensive care units (ICUs) were 96% clogged and the overall healthcare network was nearing the brink of collapse. Thanks to a vaccination campaign recognized as one of the most successful in the world, Chile managed to reduce its infection rate, although to date it has more than 39,000 deaths.

5.- THIRD EARLY WITHDRAWAL OF PENSIONS

At the end of April, the Chilean Congress approved the third early withdrawal of 10% of the pension funds, counting on official votes despite the constant refusal of the Government, an operation that added to the first two withdrawals has implied to date the transfer of more of 47,064 million dollars.

Under the argument of providing quick support to the population severely hit by the economic crisis derived from the pandemic, the third withdrawal was driven by the opposition, who felt the 18,000 million dollars in government social measures were insufficient.

6.- CHILE FALLS AGAINST BRAZIL

In a vibrant match, La Roja fell by the minimum count against the Brazilian team commanded by Neymar Jr. and said goodbye to a correct America’s Cup in which revelations such as the Chilean-British Benjamin Brereton, today called up by the Chilean squad, shone .

7.- WOMEN IN THE JJ.OO

With world leaders in sport such as Olympique de Lyon goalkeeper Christiane Endler, marksman Francisca Crovetto and pirigüista María José Maillard at the helm, women led for the first time the delegation of Chilean athletes who competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games , the largest in its history with 58 athletes (37 women).

8.- LATAM, IN BANKRUPTCY

The multinational airline Latam presented in November to a New York court a restructuring plan proposing the injection of 8.19 billion dollars to the group to get out of Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Law, which the company filed in May of 2020 hit by the covid-19 pandemic.

9.- CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY ACHIEVES THE THIRD CHAMPIONSHIP

Those led by Cristian Paulucci reached the club’s sixteenth title in 84 years of history, with 68 points overall and six away from their closest guard, becoming the four-time Chilean soccer champions on December 4.

With this result, the crusader team consolidated its supremacy at the local level and equaled the record of Colo Colo, until today the only team to win four championships in a row, although this time Católica did it in long tournaments, unlike the albos.

10.- HISTORICAL RISE IN INTEREST RATE

The Central Bank of Chile decided on December 14 to raise the benchmark interest rate to 4%, its highest level since 2014, accelerating the monetary stimulus given an inflationary projection that will remain around 7% for a few months.

Inflationary pressure and the challenges in terms of growth and post-pandemic economic reactivation will be two of the main issues that the elected government of the leftist Gabriel Boric will have to face.

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• The day that ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán left a city without roses to bury his son
• Mexico will require a visa from Venezuelans to prevent them from reaching the United States
• The murdered actress Tania Mendoza and her love for the Mexican drug lord Arturo Beltrán Leyva
• “My husband cut off my hands with an ax”
• Tania Mendoza, actress of “La mera reina del sur” is shot to death in Mexico

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