[ARCHIVO] President Bachelet pays tribute to Patricio Aylwin: “He incarnated democratic recovery.”
“The thousands of people who lived and worked with him, and who today say farewell with profound respect, know that he incarnated democratic recovery, the tireless drive to bring reconciliation to the nation, and the forging of a path to peace when it was most needed.” With those words, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said goodbye this afternoon to the former President of the Republic, Patricio Aylwin Azócar, during the final tribute that was held in the courtyard of the General Cemetery.
In her speech, President Bachelet recalled that the former Chilean Head of State “lived through times of difficulty and unrest; times of great struggles and transformation, and hard decisions, too. Times that also caused rifts and pain”.
She added, “he lived with the constant pain of that failure of his generation. But he was humble, too, and had the vision to extract the right lesson from that traumatic experience. And so he fostered, and staunchly defended, unity and the reencounter of democratic people and dialogue among those who favored social change, and also with his political adversaries”, she stated.
On Aylwin’s role in making reparations to the victims of human rights violations, she underlined that he “took it upon himself to represent the nation in asking for forgiveness for the crimes of the dictatorship”. In this regard, the President thanked Patricio Aylwin for “his courage, his humility, and his commitment to Chilean democracy. Don Patricio, Chile will not forget your efforts to cement the foundation of national reconciliation, nor your willingness to transform our memory into a moral legacy of saying ‘Never Again’”.
She also emphasized that Aylwin “pushed forward and shaped a political understanding that has been decisive in determining the country’s trajectory over the past quarter century—the coming together of democratic people in collective action”. She added, “that encounter laid the foundation of an entire political culture and was the keystone of administrations that gave Chile stability and progress. And today it looks to the future to offer the people the prospect of increasing justice and development.”
On this point, she mentioned that Aylwin’s legacy also comes with demands: “It invokes our responsibilities as leaders and political representatives. It requires us to bring the social and political dialogue into line with today’s realities”, she affirmed.
Finally, the President called upon those present to carry on his legacy, commenting, “here we stand, President Aylwin, ready to take up, renew and carry forward the unity of democratic people. And that is what the Chilean people ask of us”.