Former Chilean Pres. Piñera Dies in Helicopter Crash

Facts

• Former two-term Chilean Pres. Sebastián Piñera, who served from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022, died Tuesday after a helicopter he was on crashed into Lake Ranco. There have been reports that he was piloting the aircraft, but this has yet to be confirmed. Three other passengers survived.¹
• During his first term, Piñera, 74, oversaw quick economic growth and a drop in unemployment, the opposite of the economic conditions seen in neighboring Latin American countries at that time.¹
• During his second term, the former conservative president, who was also a billionaire businessman, was impeached by the lower house of the legislature over allegations of using his office to benefit his family's business interests. However, the Senate voted not to remove him from office.²
• His second term also endured violent protests over inequality, his reaction to which was met with allegations of human rights violations. Following the protests, the government promised to write a new constitution.³
• Piñera, who was educated in both Chile as well as at the US' Harvard University, was estimated to have a net worth of $2.7B. His business success began when he founded the credit card company Banco in the 1970s.⁴

Sources: ¹Reuters.com, ²Washington Post, ³Al Jazeera and ⁴CNN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Global Americans. There's a reason that in the middle of his second term, Piñera's approval rating sat at 6% — making him one of the most unpopular presidents in world history, even compared to Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro. Chileans from across the political spectrum condemned him for his treatment of street protesters and failure to reform dictator Augusto Pinochet's constitution. Even his staunchest supporters understood that he was a political liability rather than a source of unity.
• Narrative B, as provided by New York Times. Following Piñera's first term, which was part of Chile's post-Pinochet economic revival, the two-term president once again pushed the country upward both economically and socially. While he did use justified use of force during violent times, he proved transparent by allowing the UN to visit Chile to investigate abuse of power claims. Piñera believed in using the government to give those at the bottom as much opportunity as those at the top — a legacy for which he should be remembered.