Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, was yesterday “dismayed” by the “tragic death” of the former president of Chile Sebastián Piñera, who died this past Tuesday as a result of a helicopter accident in the center of the country.
“Dismayed by the tragic death of the former president of Chile Sebastián Piñera,” declared Pedro Sánchez through his official account on the social network X. “My condolences to his family and friends, as well as to the Government and all the Chilean people,” he continued. “During his mandate, we strengthened ties between our two countries and together we made COP 25 possible at a crucial moment in the fight against the climate emergency,” he added. “Rest in peace,” he concluded.
In October 2019, Pedro Sánchez contacted Sebastián Piñera to offer Madrid as a possible alternative venue for the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25). COP25 was going to take place in Santiago, Chile in December of that year, but the Chilean government was forced to abandon the event due to mass protests in the South American country. The summit was finally held in Spain.
Sebastián Piñera (president of Chile in two periods, 2010-2014 and 2018-2022) died this Tuesday after the helicopter in which he was traveling with three other people crashed into Lake Ranco, in the Los Ríos region, in the center of Chile, as reported by the Chilean Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá, during a press conference. The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, has ordered a state funeral and has decreed three days of national mourning and the Government spokesperson, Camila Vallejo, has announced that, “who was twice elected president of Chile, will have the honors and recognitions that he deserves.”
Piñera made two official trips to Spain in October 2018 and September 2019. Both visits took place during his second presidential term and in both he was received by Sánchez and the King. In addition, Pedro Sánchez was received by Sebastián Piñera in Santiago de Chile on August 28, 2018, within the framework of his first visit to Latin America as President of the Government.
Condolences in Latin America
The death of Sebastián Piñera has shocked the entire Ibero-American world. The secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, has sent his condolences to “family and friends” of Piñera, and has stated that the organization accompanies the Chilean people “in these moments of sadness.”
In addition, the Presidency of Argentina has been the first head of State in the region to express its condolences “to his family, friends and to all the Chilean people” for the death of Piñera. For his part, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, has conveyed, his “sincere words of support and solidarity wishing strength to all his family and friends” through the social network X. Brazilian president, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, has declared that both leaders worked together to “strengthen the bilateral relationship” through “good dialogue”; and the president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, has praised Piñera’s “positive attitude” and recalled his support for Uruguay in sending vaccines against the coronavirus during the pandemic.
Likewise, the president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, has stated that Piñera was an “important political leader in the region”; The president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, has sent his condolences to Piñera’s family and friends as they face “this moment of pain”; the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, has expressed “her solidarity with the people of Chile”; and the president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, has “deeply regretted the unexpected departure of former president Sebastián Piñera”.
