The former president of Chile Sebastián Piñera died this Tuesday in a helicopter accident, the country’s government confirmed.
The accident on Lake Ranco, in southern Chile, also left three survivors, reported Carolina Tohá, Minister of the Interior and Public Security of Chile.
Piñera, 74 years old, was president of the South American country in the periods 2010-2014 and 2018-2022.
The Chilean government declared national mourning and there will be a state funeral.
“A few moments ago we had confirmation from the Carabineros that told us that the Navy was able to reach the place where the accident occurred and recover the body of the former president,” said Tohá.
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«There were four crew members on the helicopter. Three of them were able to reach the shore on their own, and are out of danger. But it was not the case of the fourth crew member, who was former president Sebastián Piñera,” said Tohá.
“I have communicated with former presidents (Eduardo) Frei, (Ricardo) Lagos and (Michelle) Bachelet and they all deeply regret the departure of President Piñera and will do everything possible to participate in his funeral,” said the Chilean president. Gabriel BoricPiñera’s successor.
“‘Chile is all of us and we must dream it, draw it and build it together,’ said Sebastián Piñera in his second term speech,” Boric recalled.
“A big hug for his family and loved ones in these difficult times,” added the president.
The Los Ríos region prosecutor’s office confirmed the opening of an investigation following the accident.
According to local media, the former president was traveling back after visiting his friend, businessman José Cox.
The National Disaster Prevention and Response Service issued a statement with the accident report, detailing that at around 3:00 p.m. local time, “the fall of a helicopter-type aircraft in the Ilihue sector of the Lago commune was reported.” Ranco; “Preliminarily, three injuries and one death are recorded.”
It would later be confirmed that Piñera was the deceased.
«I deeply regret the death of former president Sebastián Piñera. In these difficult times, my condolences to his family, friends and loved ones,” said the former president. Michelle BacheletPiñera’s great political rival.
«I always valued former President Piñera’s commitment to our country and democracy, as well as his tireless work and service to the nation. May he rest in peace,” he added.
The former president was born on December 1, 1949 in Santiago. A commercial engineer by profession, with a major in Economics, he had four children with Cecilia Morel.
He also completed a doctorate in Economics at Harvard University, where he was also an assistant professor.
What is known about the accident
The accident occurred in the Iliue sector, south of the country, where heavy rain fell this Tuesday.
Carabineros received a report at 2:57 p.m., reporting the accident. The first to arrive were the uniformed police and the Navy, local media reported.
The former head of state, who piloted the helicopter, had gone to lunch at the house of businessman José Cox.
The aircraft advanced a few meters, but lost control near the shore. She ended up submerged 40 meters deep, according to local media.
Piñera’s body was recovered from the depths of the water and transferred on a boat belonging to the Navy. The rescue operation was carried out by fire divers.
Photo caption, Piñera’s great joy was the rescue of the 33 miners in 2010.
Businessman and millionaire
With a fortune close to US$3 billion, the Harvard economics doctor always faced criticism for his business past and the rejection of some of his political allies linked to the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
His high assets even took him to the famous list Forbes.
He came to politics as a senator between 1990-1998.
“I knew that my true vocation was public service and I went into politics,” he said in an interview in March 2019, in which he also stated that a third term was not in his plans.
Although in 2005 he lost the presidential race against the socialist Michelle Bacheletfive years later he marked a milestone by becoming the first conservative to come to power since the return to democracy in 1990 after four center-left governments.
The beginning of his first term was focused on reconstruction after an earthquake and tsunami that shook the central-southern area of the country, although he also celebrated victories such as the surprising rescue of 33 miners trapped 700 meters deep.
Convinced that economic growth was the key to improving the quality of life and achieving development, he was an advocate of investment and reforms to modernize the world‘s largest copper producer.
But his phrases “education is a consumer good” and “nothing is free in this life”, regarding his reservations regarding universal free education, marked a harsh period of protests against him.
In October 2019, in his second term, which had begun in 2018, he faced the so-called “social outbreak”, a series of demonstrations and riots in which Chileans, mainly in Santiago, took to the streets to protest against the neoliberal system.
The trigger was the increase in public transport fares.
The protests led to him announcing and agreeing with the rest of the parties on the drafting of a new Constitution that, for the moment, remains unrealized under the government of his successor, the young left-wing president. Gabriel Boric.
He had returned to power with the promise of “better times,” but global volatility, added to a weakness in the price and production of copper, prevented his economic intentions.
He also faced the Covid-19 pandemic in his second term. At first he received a lot of criticism for the low amounts of aid for citizens, which added to the discontent of the population.
Despite his ties and support from right-wing parties, Piñera always claimed to have voted against Pinochet in the 1988 referendum that allowed the return to democracy in the country.
The late leader also lamented his sour relationship with his brother José, an economist and former Pinochet minister who created the pension fund system, praised by several countries although criticized by a large part of Chileans.
Photo caption, The social outbreak in 2019 was Piñera’s highest moment in his second term.
Piñera could not dispel doubts about his past as a businessman, fined by regulators, with allegations of insider information use and linked directly or indirectly to other scandals. But he always denied any wrongdoing.
Regarding a scandal over irregular loans from a bank he ran in the 1980s, he assured before winning his first presidency that he was “a victim of an unfair, illegal and arbitrary act.”
In that case he was convicted by the court and remained a fugitive for a few days.
On one occasion he admitted that he would have liked to be recognized in a better way, but he always trusted that his achievements would speak for themselves.
“Time is not our ally, it will be our judge,” he said in a speech before Congress in 2011.
Photo caption, Piñera ceded power to the young left-wing president Gabriel Boric
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