[News] Aznar: "There are two great battles: democracy versus authoritarianism and freedom versus populism"

[SougarLord]

 

With the participation of the president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, the former president of the Government of Spain José María Aznar and the president of the Azvi group, Manuel Contreras Caro, ABC hosted this afternoon the Vocento Spain Chile Forum, a meeting in which some of the the most pressing issues for the South American country, such as the successful vaccination process, which has been possible thanks to a bold purchase of vaccines, or the upcoming elections, with the opening of polling stations on April 10 and 11, to elect the Constituent Convention that will draft a new Magna Carta.

 

With these concerns, the conversation followed two axes, based on the questions raised by the director of ABC, Julián Quirós, and Carmen de Carlos, a journalist from this House, who opened the interventions with a question about the management of the pandemic.

 

"In Chile, we made two very important decisions," explained Piñera, from his office in La Moneda, visibly satisfied. First, anticipate, because in January 2020 we already began to prepare to face the pandemic. In April, we contacted many laboratories, and we looked for agreements and to close contracts ». For the president, the results have been unbeatable. According to the latest data, almost 6 million Chileans have already received the first dose of the vaccine, which places the country at the head of the most efficient in this process.

"The intention is to have our entire po[CENSORED]tion vaccinated to face the second great challenge," added Piñera, "the economic crisis."

 

Constituent process

Changing third, Quirós became interested in the constituent process and questioned Piñera about the 2019 protests, when thousands of Chileans took to the streets, combining episodes of violence with others of peaceful demand.

 

"There were wounds, cracks, which began to manifest," replied the president about the difficulties that the country was dragging after having completed a successful transition from dictatorship to democracy three decades ago. "The world is now very different from the 90s," added the president, who was optimistic, stating that the change is being carried out "with a lot of dialogue," and trying to sideline "the extremists on both sides." .

 

Regarding these radical leanings, Piñera was forceful and discarded the Castro or Bolivarian models for the country's political future: "There are those who want to impose utopias that have not worked anywhere in the world," he said, referring to this type of experiment. . "In Latin America, we have been very prone to these temptations." As a brake, "the Constitution will have to be approved by two-thirds of the votes," he explained.

 

Restlessness for the future

Opening his dialogue with the Chilean president, Aznar took the turn to speak and expressed his fears, showing his concern at the open political process in the American country and praising its most recent trajectory, specifically since the transition, a period in which Chile he has known peace, progress and the sweet taste of freedom.

 

"A friend and a restless democrat are speaking to you, not only for the future of Chile, but for that of Spain, and of the whole world," began Aznar, who recalled that, under the Chilean Constitution of 1980, the country had five presidents, four of them from the center-left, and who also expressed their international concerns, highlighting that in today's world there are "two great battles: democracy versus authoritarianism and freedom versus populism."

 

For Aznar, convinced that the authoritarian side is the one that is winning the battle, political crises are the most dangerous that a country can face. For this reason, the former president of the Government criticized the instability that Spain has suffered in recent years, considering that the end of the bipartisanship has not brought improvements "neither in political, economic, social or international terms."

 

"Since there is a multiparty system, there are sectors that want to question the pillars of Spanish historical success," said Aznar. "Now, in Madrid, we will have to choose between freedom and the model that questions it," he explained then about the struggle between Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Pablo Iglesias for the Community. "Populist temptations are present in Spain and Chile," he warned later, "and I hope they close well."

 

Finding the Liberty

 

"For the heart of our new Constitution, we seek freedom in the broad sense: political freedom, of entrepreneurship and social freedom, of opportunities," replied Piñera, trying to quell concerns and recalling that the Magna Carta of 1980 was the subject of divisions since the day of his birth, in full military government.

 

«We believe in Chile. From a legal point of view, it is the safest country in the entire continent, ”Contreras praised for his part, who expressed with affection how his company lived its first experience of international departure there.

 

"We are aware that there are risks, but we have confidence in the wisdom and good judgment of the Chilean people," explained Piñera. «We want Chile to be a democratic Republic, with separation of powers, because that is fundamental for the rule of law; we want to promote greater equality of opportunities, and that the right to freedom be respected, to promote innovation and creativity, "he explained.

 

In Chile, the accumulation of decades of discontent erupted in the fall of 2019, when protests lit the streets and put Piñera before one of the most difficult challenges of his tenure. Reacting in time, the president ordered a plebiscite to be held, to set the springs of constitutional change in motion and satisfy one of the most repeated demands by the protesters. As a result of the Pinochet dictatorship, the Magna Carta of 1980 had become the object of harsh criticism and anger. Held last October, 78.25% of the voters of the referendum supported the drafting of a new Constitution.

 

From the Palacio de La Moneda, the president asked that it become a "great framework for unity, stability, and the future."

 

When elected, the members of the Constituent Convention will discuss for months, between nine or twelve, the content of the new Constitution. According to the calendar of the process, the text must be approved in a new plebiscite, which is estimated to take place in August 2022.