Headlines: the triumph of the left in Chile, Gabriel Boric elected president

Audio 05:04

Gabriel Boric on the evening of his victory against José Antonio Kast in the Chilean presidential election, December 19, 2021 © AP / Luis Hidalgo

By: Véronique Rigolet Follow

4 min

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"A 

crushing victory

 " for Gabriel Boric, just 35, who beat his far-right rival José Antonio Kast with " 

nearly 56

% of the vote

 ", reports the

Guardian

. " 

The former student leader will thus become the youngest president of Chile when he takes the oath on March 11,

 " said the British daily. " 

This is the new face of the left in Latin America

 ", enthuses

El País

, who does not hesitate to compare him to " 

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the French activist who in May 68 had created his own revolution

 ”.

Gabriel Boric is the representative of a left which did not live the horrors of the Pinochet dictatorship

 ", further notes the Spanish daily, which attributes its victory to its " 

pragmatism

 ". Boric knew how to " 

move away from his communist friends to win the votes of the center

 ", by obtaining " 

the support of the Christian Democrats and of the Socialist Party

 ", a " 

decisive support

 " in his victory against the far-right candidate.

He seduced voters by committing to reduce inequalities and by promising to increase taxes on the rich to finance greater social coverage, as well as more generous pensions and a greener economy

 ," notes for his part the

New York Times

, which like the

Wall Street Journal

measures the difficulty of the task that awaits the new Chilean president in a country of 19 million inhabitants, " 

considered as the laboratory of liberalism in Latin America

 ".

His desires for radical changes " 

could fuel the concerns of investors,

 " notes the American daily.

While the Chilean economy slows, " 

its program could also be paralyzed by a divided Congress

 ", further underlines the

Wall Street Journal

.

Joe Biden's 'social revolution' may have received a fatal blow

A blow " 

potentially fatal

 ", explains the

Washington Post

, carried again by the democratic senator Joe Manchin, " 

which after 6 months already of guerrilla

 "

reiterated his " 

final no to the vast social spending plan of

1.9 trillion dollars

 ", the famous "Build Back Better", " 

a crucial program for the mandate of Joe Biden

 ".

Anger of the White House, which intends however "to 

continue discussing with Senator Manchin

 ", reports for its part the

New York Times

, which underlines like the

Guardian

"that 

with a US Senate divided 50-50, the 'Manchin opposition means the presidential project is practically dead

 .'

This " 

casts doubt on Biden's climate plans

 ," comments the

Wall Street Journal

.

The bill provides in effect for half a billion dollars to fight against global warming

," specifies the daily.

If

it fails, America's efforts to play a leading role in international climate negotiations may simply be in jeopardy.

 "

Omicron: Germany under threat of re-containment?

A wind of panic is blowing over Europe

 ", headlines

Le Soir

, while the Omicron tsunami has already forced almost all European countries to new drastic restrictions. And which could still be strengthened: after the Netherlands, " 

Germany is threatened with a new federal confinement

 ", explains

Die Welt.

 The German daily stresses that if the track had been abandoned, it resurfaced " 

with the explosive progression of Omicron

 ".

The Greens are in favor,

 " said the German daily, which reports how the group of experts advising the government on Sunday " 

sounded the alarm

 " and called for new restrictions " 

as soon as possible

 ".

An emergency meeting of the Scholz government and the presidents of regions is scheduled for tomorrow

 " Tuesday, December 21, says the German press.

Peng Shuai speaks for the first time and raises concerns

The first speech yesterday [Sunday, December 19] of the Chinese tennis star rekindled concerns,

 " judge the

New York Times

. During this interview, Peng Shuai applied himself " 

to deny any sexual assault

 ", thus reversing his "

explosive

 "

accusations 

made last November against a former Chinese vice-premier. This interview in a Singaporean daily " 

known for its pro-Beijing tendencies

 " worries even more about " 

the ability of the player to express herself freely in a country where the authorities are known to extract confessions

 ", also comments on his side.

Washington Post

, which notes that the star " 

never gave any interview to other international media

 ”.

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