Gabriel Boric delivered a largely inward speech as he began his presidency, while Gustavo Petro, taking a bold stance, stepped into the plenary with a forceful presence. The two leaders represent different styles, yet both spoke with conviction and showed the resolve of a new generation in Latin American politics.
Petro came across as the more radical figure, a former guerrilla fighter who challenged the status quo. He criticized medicine as a symbol of the system, calling out a global power structure that he described as irrational and overly dependent on fossil fuels. Early in his remarks he warned against the dangers of a world fixated on wealth and consumption, arguing that money in the hands of a few is not spent on real progress. He linked the lure of wealth to social ills, insisting that a society trained for endless competition breeds loneliness and social decay. He argued that forests suffer not from nature but from the way societies chase profits, and he suggested that the root cause lies in consumer culture rather than in the land itself.
Petro also condemned wars in Ukraine, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, accusing those conflicts of being fought in the name of oil and gas. He argued that these wars were engineered, used to avoid addressing the climate crisis. He asserted that capitalism is a central driver of environmental disaster and that true peace could never be achieved without addressing economic and environmental justice.
Boric advocates for social justice
While Boric appeared more introspective, he carried a sense of energy as he drew on Chile’s intense political journey. He highlighted inequality as a persistent danger that threatens democracy and social cohesion. He urged a collective vision aimed at greater social justice and sustainable progress, insisting that the pursuit of fairness should guide policy options and governance decisions.
Boric reiterated his stance against viewing the plebiscite outcome as a defeat, distancing himself from the constitutional proposal while promoting humility. He stated clearly that a government cannot feel defeated when citizens raise their voices, and he emphasized that democracy thrives only when people are heard and engaged. He underscored the need to protect democratic processes and to listen to citizens as the primary route to legitimate governance.
He spoke about the obligation to respond to growing concerns about inequality, noting that many people feel unrepresented by those in power or by limited political frameworks. Decisions, he argued, should reflect the will of the majority and be guided by openness, not by exclusion. The aim is to strengthen democracy through broader participation and more inclusive policies rather than narrow interests.
The Chilean leader closed by championing a vision of multilateralism grounded in justice and peace. He condemned aggression against Ukraine and highlighted the ongoing human rights challenges around gender-based violence, the situation of the Palestinian people, political prisoners in Nicaragua, and broader human rights concerns. He asserted that the world demands change and that new generations have both the right and the responsibility to imagine and build a different future.