The Chilean presidential election, whose second round takes place on Sunday (19), has mobilized prominent foreign artists and intellectuals, many of whom are in favor of Gabriel Boric.
French economist Thomas Piketty and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo signed a letter of support for the leftist, saying a Jose Antonio Kast victory would be “a real danger of backlash.”
In the same vein, Mexican actor Gael García Bernal, who acted as a Chilean publicist in the campaign to end the dictatorship in the film “No”, by Pablo Larraín, published a video on his social networks.
“What is happening in Chile is what is happening in various parts of the world, the confrontation of two visions. One of them proposes a future for the common good, a kind of harmony, and the other proposes something similar to extinction. if I were Chilean, I would vote for Gabriel Boric.”
Kast, who led the first round of the election, gained ground through the banners of anti-communism and anti-globalism, propagating a restrictive policy in relation to immigration and hard-liners in the security area. Boric, a 35-year-old deputy, was part of the group of young student leaders who in 2011 protested for free university education.
It also defends advances in civil rights, such as abortion and gay marriage, and differs from the name of the ultra-right by having in its program the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples. The leftist’s candidacy is also, in a way, the result of protests that led to the movement to replace the Constitution formulated at the time of dictator Augusto Pinochet, of whom Kast is an avowed fan.
That’s why Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal, of “Game of Thrones” and “Narcos”, whose family left Chile during the military dictatorship (1973-1990) and obtained political asylum in Denmark, also posted a pro-Boric video : “I want to invite you to vote for a leader committed to democracy.”
In a poetic way, Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler posted a message on Twitter in favor of the leftist: “Let’s arm ourselves with courage to the teeth, hate has come out of hiding and, this Sunday, voting is something for brave people. us, all my love for Chile”.
On Kast’s side, a recently positioned intellectual was Nobel Prize in Literature Mario Vargas Llosa. Known until a few years ago for his progressive liberalism, the Peruvian has been supporting right-wing candidates such as former Argentine leader Mauricio Macri and defeated Peruvian candidate Keiko Fujimori.
“The election in Chile is absolutely fundamental. If Chile regains the leadership it had in Latin America, I believe the situation in the region will change a lot. It will be very important for Chile to lead again what is the center-right, freedom, the stimulus to entrepreneurs and foreign investment.”
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