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“This year 2020 was not the year we imagined”, was the phrase with which Sebastián Piñera began his speech. Together with the First Lady, Cecilia Morel, who moments before had said that 2020 will be a year that “without a doubt we will not forget”, The president recorded the traditional message on New Year’s Eve, focused on a balance very focused on the impact of Covid-19, but with a more optimistic look towards the future, focused on the arrival of vaccines against the disease.
“It was a very hard year, very difficult for all Chilean families. We are fully aware of the pain and anguish that so many compatriots have suffered, ”said Piñera, adding that “It was also a year in which as a government we had to make very difficult decisions, and sometimes misunderstood, because they demanded that we restrict the freedoms of Chileans to protect the health and life of all.”
The President assured that he feels “pride and gratitude for the way in which Chileans have known how to face these times of adversity,” and made special mention of the groups that have been at the forefront of the fight against the disease. “I want to acknowledge and especially thank the health workers, who so many times risked their own lives to protect the health and lives of everyone else”, he raised, also naming other groups, such as firefighters, teachers, and garbage collectors.
“I also want to thank those anonymous heroes who worked tirelessly to bring food, medicine, basic services to our homes,” continued the president. “We know that many of you needed the help of the State, and this was not always enough. However, thousands of public officials did their best so that the State could be present and at the service of all Chileans, ”he said.
But Piñera saved the final part of the speech – just over three minutes – for a crucial issue on the horizon. “I especially thank that army of invisible hands that has allowed us to guarantee a safe, effective and timely vaccine to all our compatriots”He noted, ensuring that he has feelings of “optimism and hope” for 2021.
“It is going to be a good year for Chile,” said Piñera, to later refer to the busy schedule that 2021 will have, which includes the election of a Constitutional Convention, plus elections for mayors, governors, parliamentarians and the presidential.
“It is going to be a year of great definitions, a year in which we will all draw the paths that together we will travel during the next decades, and that will allow us to fulfill our dreams, and that it will allow us to contribute so that our children and our grandchildren can also achieve their dreams, ”the President reflected.
