A political saga in express speed

The now 36-year-old Gabriel Boric is the youngest president in Chile's history and the world's youngest head of state at the moment. He happily shows off his tattoos and tells openly about how he hung out with guys during his teens. Only these small details are a revolution in Chilean society that is considered cautious and conservative by Latin American standards.

Boric has also put together a government that is historic in a number of ways.

In the new Minister of Education, Chile gets its first openly gay minister.

And 14 out of 24 ministers are women, which together with a strong focus on gender equality has led the president to call his government "the most feminist in Chile's history".

The fact that several of the students who protested in the streets ten years ago are now holding key positions in the government cannot be described as anything other than a political saga in express speed.

And it has great symbolic value that the new Minister of Defense is the grandson of Salvador Allende - the Socialist president who was overthrown in a US-backed military coup in 1973.

The government declaration contains the seeds of a renewal of the Latin American left.

Gabriel Boric has dealt with several of the Latin American left's 'sacred cows' by harshly criticizing countries such as Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

"We can not condemn police violence here in Chile and at the same time excuse it in other countries," Boric explained.

Focus on the climate crisis

The Boric government also means renewal by describing the climate crisis as a matter of fate.

Otherwise, the climate tends to have surprisingly little room in Latin American politics, despite the threat being acute.

As for the invasion of Ukraine, he has been clear since day one demanding a stop to Russia's war.

This is not at all the case for many Latin American presidents.

But the new government suffers from a lack of experience.

There is a big difference between leading a protest movement and governing a country.

Boric must keep his motley left-wing coalition together and also work together across bloc borders to gain majorities in Congress.

And the government will face many uncomfortable decisions.

Security issues become a difficult balancing act

It was not many days before the Boric government received student protests.

When they were met by heavily armed police and water cannons, swear words came from radical circles that the president was a traitor.

Political issues such as security and immigration are traditionally "owned" by right-wing parties.

It will be a difficult balancing act where it is important for the new government not to lean too hard and thus end up in a betrayal debate but at the same time take the issues very seriously so that it does not form a picture of a weak and paralyzed government. who have lost control of the country.

Uncertainty about new constitution

During the year, Chile will hold a referendum on a new constitution that is a direct result of the street protests.

But what will the new constitution end up in?

What happens to the rules of the game for mining and control of strategic natural resources such as copper and lithium?

There is great concern among the Chilean business community and among international actors.

Together with the global uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, it could create a negative spiral that slows down important investment.

Boric's new government has already changed Chile.

At least on the surface.

But as the president himself has said, he will not be evaluated until four years from now.

And then it is the concrete results that count.

Not least to deliver in the areas that have been the cause of the last decade's protest movements - the right to health care and education and the high cost of living in the country.

A political saga in express speed - but Boric faces several challenges