MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

No place for “chainsaw” policies in Chile, says Boric

Boric highlighted his difference with the Argentine government and the Chilean opposition

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font, speaking at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) annual meeting in Santiago Friday, underlined the importance of long-term projects and institutional stability over short-term, drastic reforms like the ones implemented by his Argentine colleague Javier Milei, whom he was obviously referring to, since he used the Libertarian's “chainsaw” war cry, which US Department of Government Efficiency Chief Elon Musk has also echoed.

Boric rejected aggressive cuts to state structures, saying, “No one is going to come here with a chainsaw to cut ministries,” implicitly critiquing proposals like that of presidential candidate Evelyn Matthei, who suggested reducing ministries and cutting public spending. The Chile Vamos presidential candidate urged the current government to focus on citizen security.

“In Chile, governments last four years without reelection. It is very little, I think, but it has been like that for a long time,” he pointed out. “Major projects take more than one presidential term,” he also stressed while underscoring the need for collaboration between the state and private sector to foster investment and development.

He also addressed global and regional issues, advocating for multilateralism amid weakening international cooperation and dismissing isolationist policies like tariffs and walls.

Boric also noted Chile’s role as a “medium-sized but proud” nation reliant on collective solutions for challenges like climate change. Referring to tensions with regional governments, such as past exchanges with Argentina's Economy Minister Luis Toto Caputo, he reiterated that “governments pass, peoples and institutions remain,” urging leaders to prioritize long-term care for both. Caputo described him as “practically a communist who is about to sink” the country.

The Chilean president added Friday that, in the face of global challenges, building consensus that transcends political cycles is essential. “Today, it is tremendously challenging to have continuity. That is why we must think of long-term strategies,” he said.

“This [IDB] meeting is taking place at a key moment, where collaboration between countries is being threatened,” Boric also argued. “No country, no matter how powerful it may be, will face challenges such as climate change or economic crises alone.”

Regarding US President Donald Trump's tariffs spree, Boric claimed that “isolationism, cutting bridges, building walls, imposing tariffs unilaterally, will not bring us solutions.”