Sebastian Pinilla died in a helicopter crash in southern Chile on Tuesday.
A state funeral was held in the capital Santiago for former Chilean president Sebastian Piñera, who died when the helicopter he was piloting crashed into a lake.
President Gabriel Boric said Friday at a ceremony in the Old Parliament: “Today we mourn the tragic passing of a man, a father, husband, grandfather and public figure who was a leader in the transition to democracy. We're sharing it,” he said.
Piñera, 74, died on Tuesday and his state funeral in the capital began with a private viewing before opening to the public on Wednesday.
On Friday, a military band wearing a red cone hat played as Piñera's coffin, draped in the Chilean flag, was escorted on horseback to Santiago's cathedral for a funeral mass.
He will later be buried in a private family ceremony attended by his widow, four children and grandchildren.
Pinilla, a conservative billionaire who was first elected from 2010 to 2014, oversaw a period of strong economic growth but continued protests. Boric himself was a leader in the student movement demanding educational reform during Pinilla's first term.
“These days, some people remember that we were political adversaries. That's true,” left-wing Boric said, adding that the two sides were able to reach a compromise that left 131 people dead in central Chile. He added that they had discussed the recent deadly wildfires the day before his death.
“Unify in memory”
Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman, reporting from Santiago, said large crowds had gathered since early Friday morning to pay their final respects to the former president.
“It was a very emotional funeral, not only because a former president had resigned two years ago, but because he had died in such a dramatic and unexpected way. That's why people not only remembered the former president, but also his humanity. “I also show respect for them,” she said.
Pinilla also oversaw the rescue of 33 miners trapped beneath the Atacama Desert. The event became a global media sensation and the subject of the 2014 film The 33.
Newman said some of the 33 Chilean miners rescued in Pinilla's daring gamble also attended the funeral.
One of the miners, Juan Carlos Aguilar, remembered the excitement he felt hearing the former president's words when they first made contact.
“Imagine hearing the president say, 'We will look for you like our children.' I will never forget that,” Aguilar told Reuters. Ta.
During Pinilla's second term, which ran from 2018 to 2022, large and often violent protests against inequality erupted in 2019, ending with a promise to draft a new constitution. Piñera also oversaw the country's pandemic response.
“he [Pinera] Mr. Newman has been harshly criticized, in part due to his business dealings and human rights violations that occurred during his 2019 term…But today, church members say all Chileans have come together to support the former president. We're calling for unity in our memory,” Newman said. He said.
