Videos EFE Latam

Boric and Petro raise their voices against the coup in Brazil and call for regional unity

Santiago de Chile, Jan 9 (EFE).- The presidents of Chile, Gabriel Boric, and Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who share the leadership of the new progressive wave that is sweeping Latin America, raised their voices on Monday against the coup attempt in Brazil and called for regional “unity” to strengthen democracies. During a joint appearance at La Moneda (the seat of the Chilean government), the two leaders confirmed their intention to request an extraordinary meeting at the Organization of American States (OAS) after the crisis unleashed on Sunday by hordes of Bolsonarists who invaded the Parliament, the Presidency and the Supreme Court. “THE DEMOCRATIC PACT IS IN DANGER” “There can be no nuances. These actions are unacceptable, as are the complicit silences, and they cannot be put into perspective or ignored (…) Our region must have a clear position on the question,” Boric said. said. Thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who do not recognize the result of the October 30 elections and call for military “intervention” to bring him back to power, invaded the headquarters of the three powers of the state and caused considerable damage to furniture and computer equipment. The situation is under control today, after the arrest of 300 putschists on Sunday and 1,200 others on Monday who took refuge in the camp they had set up in front of the army headquarters since the elections. “The democratic pact in the Americas is in danger,” said Petro, who began his first official visit to Chile on Monday. The Colombian president assured that the far right “does not want democracy” and threatens it because “it takes away privileges” and “allows the diversity of our populations (…) to be owners of our own countries “. “As leftists, as progressives, but above all as democrats, whatever the political options, we have a duty to reflect on how we deepen and strengthen democracies in our region and in the world”, Boric added. Boric and Petro both expressed themselves the day before on their social networks with powerful messages in favor of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with whom they have great ideological affinities and whose investiture they attended on January 1. SOLID RELATIONSHIP This is the third meeting between Boric and Petro since they both headed to their different countries in March and August, respectively, which shows their closeness and willingness to work together. “The more we are united, the better we will be as a region”, stressed Boric, who confirmed his presence at the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) to be held in Buenos Aires in two weeks . Among the issues addressed by the two leaders are the migration crisis triggered by the Venezuelan and Haitian exoduses, the “need” to reach a common regional position on climate change and the peace process in Colombia. Petro assured that a “satellite agreement” with Chile would allow Colombia “to have the cadastral information of the possession of fertile land” and “to move forward in peace” and “to apply the first point between the ‘State and the ex-FARC guerrillas’. “Peace in Colombia is also peace in the region, a peace that we cannot stop building and to which Chile is also firmly committed,” Boric stressed. After the bilateral meeting, Petro will hold a meeting with the mayor of Santiago, the communist Iraci Hasler, who will give him the keys to the city and name him an honorary citizen. He will also be received in the afternoon by the presidents of the Senate, Álvaro Elizalde Soto, and of the Chamber of Deputies, Vlado Mirosevic, and on Tuesday, before returning to Bogotá, he will visit the Chilean Supreme Court. María M. Mur (c) EFE Agency