Only the President Gabriel Boric finished touring the Fryshuset social reintegration center in Stockholm, Sweden, the deputy Diego Schalper (RN), who is part of the delegation that accompanies him, asked him how he was following the impact of the frontal system in Chile.
The President explained to him – and other parliamentarians participating in the tour – that he had recently spoken with the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá.
And while the Head of State continues his trip through Europe, in the country the rains create havoc in different regions and the pressure from the opposition has been escalating for him to cancel his trip and return to Santiago. However, Boric justified continuing with his journey.
“I have told the parliamentarians that they have a space to be able to talk publicly with the press to be able to tell what, in their vision, is the experience and the benefits that tours of these characteristics have,” said the President in this regard.
The original design was for the legislators accompanying him to appear with him at the press point. This, with the aim of delivering a sign of unity and support for the tour. However, it was not possible due to time problems.
During the morning, yes, there was a moment of tension. The President seriously evaluated the option of canceling the tour, an idea that he discussed with Tohá and other ministers of his political committee. However, according to government sources, the Head of State weighed other factors to continue with his journey: the relevance of the trip, the bilateral meetings he already has scheduled – king of Sweden, prime minister of that country and president of France. , among others-, the summit for peace in the context of the war between Ukraine and Russia. In addition, he has appointments in which he will address topics of interest such as human rights, economics, among other subjects.
The pressure for him to suspend his trip, in any case, had been coming before. On Wednesday afternoon, when the presidential plane took off from Germany to Sweden, an uncomfortable situation occurred in the aisle of the aircraft between Boric and the deputy. Marlene Perez (UDI), who yesterday announced that he would return to the country earlier to visit the Biobío Region, although he has not been able to find a ticket to do so. The two argued in full view of everyone and the President made her go to her office to continue the conversation.
This Thursday and after that exchange – and after Minister Tohá recognized that advancing the return to Santiago is always evaluated – uncertainty took over the conversation of the members of the delegation. And even more so after the President canceled his presence at the last minute on a visit to the Scania company to monitor the tragedy.
Despite everything, the decision had been made: Boric will remain in Sweden at least until Friday and plans could only change after the balance meeting this Thursday. This was conveyed to the ministers of the political committee, and he decided to express it publicly upon his arrival at the Stockholm Concert House for a meeting with Chileans residing in the Nordic country.
“We are deployed in all regions. I just spoke with the delegate of the Biobío Region, also with the mayor of Curanilagüe. I have seen the deployment of Minister Tohá, the Ministry of the Interior, ministers in charge, I recently spoke with Minister (Antonia) Orellana, who is also deployed on the ground. Therefore, I trust the team we have,” said Boric, who also spoke with the metropolitan delegate, Constanza Martínez; and Minister Camila Vallejo.
On Wednesday, the President stayed late into the night monitoring the crisis, according to Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren.
Along these lines, in his press release, Boric insisted that he will continue to monitor the frontal system and that “all this is always under evaluation based on the background we have in Chile, but what I have seen is that we have a team very well deployed on the ground. I am constantly talking with them, so what I think is pertinent is to let the institutions work.”
The delegation assures that La Moneda was aware of the impact that the frontal system could have before the trip, but that they decided to do it anyway due to the relevance of the tour.
Beyond the President’s explanations, criticism from the right continued to escalate.
