President Piñera: "I call on all my fellow Chileans to set our sights on seeking unity, learning and teaching this September 11th
Accompanied by First Lady Cecilia Morel, the entire cabinet of ministers, La Moneda staff as well as the Catholic and Evangelical chaplains, who led a solemn prayer for a more unified country, President Piñera shared a reflection, inviting the people of Chile "to build a freer, fairer, more prosperous and more unified Chile".
Following an event marking 45 years since September 11, 1973, held in the Camelias Patio at the La Moneda Palace, President Sebastián Piñera called upon the country to see beyond “our legitimate differences and realise that we are united by something much stronger.”
He continued by asking the Chilean people “to lift up our gaze and this September 11th, as we commemorate 45 years since the military coup, let us look for unity, learning, and teaching.”
The President called on the people of Chile to set their sights on the future. “Countries have to remember their history but should never be trapped by it, because history, by definition, is the past; we can talk about it and learn from it, but we cannot change it”, he said.
On lessons from the past for leaders and political sectors, he said “In Chile, the left has learned to condemn violence and respect democracy and the right has leaned to condemn human rights violations and respect democracy.”
On the role of his administration, President Piñera expressed his conviction that the transition to democracy is complete and that he is now driving a second transition that will make Chile a developed country without poverty before the end of the next decade. In conclusion, he emphasized that “we have an obligation to leave our children, grandchildren and those to come a freer, fairer, more prosperous and more unified Chile. That is the great mission of our generation.”