Chile’s leftist president governs moderately. Europe can benefit from this.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
El Salvador Chileans have a reputation in Latin America for being dependable, serious and determined. Gabriel Boric, the 37-year-old Chilean president, has just shown at a summit in Brussels that there must be truth to such platitudes.
As of Tuesday, more than 50 heads of state from the European Union and Latin America had gathered here for their first summit in eight years. The meeting was meant to herald a turning point in relations between the two continents. Both parties hope to cooperate more closely in the future with good intentions.
But then government representatives did not prepare anything that could be agreed: on top of that, further progress was expected between Mercosur, the South American free trade area, and the EU. The deal “is already on track,” as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced after Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Brasilia earlier this year.
But in fact, Brazil has failed in recent months to reach a joint negotiating proposal with Mercosur.
Gabriel Boric from Chile is very different. He saved the summit by delivering on a promise he made a month earlier to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Chancellor Olaf Scholz: the Andean country signed a statement of intent with the EU to see future Close partnerships in sustainable raw material value chains.
Cooperation in future raw material supply
This is very important for Europe: Chile produces the raw materials lithium and copper, which are important for the energy transition, and may soon also become a major supplier of green hydrogen.
The EU does not only want to support the sustainable production of raw materials and source them from them. European companies will also invest heavily locally in the Andean country. In the future, Chile will not only be able to supply lithium, but may also produce batteries for electric vehicles.
For the EU, the agreement is an important first step in implementing the “Global Gateway Strategy” – Europe’s response to China’s “Silk Road Initiative”. The EU also wants to provide its partners with funding for infrastructure investment, as Beijing has done on a large scale around the world for more than a decade. To date, the EU lacks major flagship projects. Chilean President Boric can now ensure that such a thing happens.
Brussels’ foreign trade and diplomatic successes are extremely important for the former student leader to boost his popularity in his own country: since his clear election victory a year and a half ago, the Chilean is the youngest in history The president is disappointed.
>> Read here: Today Europe needs Latin America more than Latin America needs Europe
Only 30% had a positive opinion of him. This is because the country has been economically successful for decades but has seen little growth recently. At the same time, issues such as rising crime and uncontrolled immigration have pushed politics to the right. Several important legislative projects advocated by Borik and his left-wing Green Alliance – such as a new left-wing draft constitution or tax reform – have failed miserably.
The president has long since abandoned many left-wing principles for pragmatic reasons. For the first time, he relied on close cooperation with the police to solve law and order problems. For Borric, not so long ago this was an absolute no-no.
Boric acid could be a godsend for Europe
(Photo: AP)
Europeans, however, would classify Borik’s government as a modern social democracy. In his cabinet, women and men are represented in equal proportions. Borik came to office demanding that the country’s foreign policy be feminist and promising far-reaching special rights for indigenous peoples. Clearly, Borik now wants to show his fellow countrymen that his modern left-wing politics can definitely prevail in negotiations with the Europeans.
Breaking the Taboo of the South American Left
Unlike many left-wing heads of state in Latin America, Boric has openly criticized human rights abuses in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela — a taboo that has been broken on the Latin American left.
Boric had just made himself unpopular with Brazilian President Lula and Colombian President Gustavo Petro by denouncing Venezuela’s human rights policies at a South American summit. Even now, some heads of state may not like that he upstaged them.
more: Why Europe’s chances in Latin America are getting slimmer