Politics

Spain’s Felipe VI arrives in Chile for new president’s swearing-in

Santiago, Mar 10 (EFE).- King Felipe VI of Spain arrived in Chile on Thursday to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of the new president, the progressive Gabriel Boric, who will open a new era in the Andean country.

Boric, who was part of student protests demanding free public education a decade ago and has been a parliamentarian since 2014, will become the country’s youngest president on Friday.

Felipe VI landed early in the morning at the Santiago airport, accompanied by Senate President Ander Gil, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Economy Yolanda Diaz, and Minister of Equality Irene Montero.

A few hours later he met with the president-elect, who has a close relationship with Spain’s Podemos movement and several of its leaders.

A half-hour long formal interview at Santiago’s town hall headquarters, in which they discussed issues of common interest, was followed by an official photo.

From there, the Spanish delegation moved to the Palacio de la Moneda, where Felipe VI met with the outgoing president, Sebastián Piñera.

The agenda continued at the Estadio Español club, where the monarch greeted the diplomatic corps and prominent members of the large Spanish community in Chile.

Felipe VI thanked the community for its work and toasted the future of Chile ahead of a new era, before returning to La Moneda for a gala dinner hosted by Piñera for the foreign delegations who have arrived to take part in the swearing-in ceremony.

On Friday morning, Felipe VI will travel to the coastal city of Valparaíso, located 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Santiago and the headquarters of the Congress where a solemn ceremony commemorating the victory of the leader of the country’s struggle for independence, Bernardo O’Higgins, will be held.

The delegations will then go to the presidential residence in Cerro Alto, where the new president will host his first official lunch.

The presidents of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, as well as the vice president of Brazil and the first lady of Mexico are among those who have arrived for the swearing-in ceremony.

The king will then return to Santiago and conclude his two-day visit while the ministers accompanying him will stay on for another day. EFE

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