Two-time fanner Chilean President Pifiera dies in ahelicopter crash
VINA DEL MAR, Chile - SebastianPiiiem, the two-time former president of Chile who faced social upheav-al followed by a pandemic in his second term. died Tuesday in a helicopter crc1sh He was 74.
Chile Interior Minister Carolina Toha confirmed the death of the former president. No further details were immediately released about the cause ofthe accident
Serving as president from 2010 to 2014 and againfrom201Bto2022,lVIr. Piiiera led the South American nation during devastating naturcll disasters, including the fallout of an earthquake and a tsunami
He also b'OVerned during the coronavirus pandemic and placed Chile among the top fiv-e countries forvaccinationmtes for the illness.
His legacy is marred by violent police repression in October 2019 against protesters who were demonstrating against the country's education,healthandpension systems dating to the country's 1973-1990 military dictatorship. International organizations cited mass violations of human rights in the crackdown.
The social unrest ultimately led to two attempts to update the constitution inherited from the military government, butbothhavefailed
Mr. Pifiera's death came as Chile already was recovering from massive deadly wildfires in the county's centrcll region. The death drew an outpouring of condolences from leaders and former leaders across Latin America from both the left andri{,'ht.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it was sad that Mr. Piiiera had died so "abruptly_"
"We worked to st:renb'then the relationship benveen our countries and we always had a good dialOb'Ul! when we were both presidents, and also when we weren't," he said
Argentinian President Javier Milei sent condolences, as did his predecessor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
"As everyone knows, we did not have the same ideas, but we were always united by a relationship of great respect he was a ri{,'ht-wing man but deeply democratic," Ms. Fernandez said
Mr. Piiiem was the owner of the flfth-larb'l!St fortune in Chile, estimated at some $8 billion He worked as an academic in several universities for almost 20 y-ears and as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank.
As a businessman in the 1970s through the 1990s, he worked in a v-ariety of industries, including real estate.
He held shares in major airlines, telecommunication, real estate and electricity companies. He also created one of the largest credit card companies in the country. In 2009, he handed over the management of his businesses to others.
He entered politics representing the center-right, which was the civilian support of the military regime. However, when he serv-ed as an independent senator, he voted against the extension of dictator AUb'U.Sto Pinochet (1973-1990).
He ran three times for president of Chile. In 2006, he lost to socialist Michelle Bachelet; then in 2010 he defeated former President Eduardo F:rei and was elected in 2010. Four years later, in 201B, he won a second four-year term after defeating a leftist independent.