COLUMN | Long Live Chile!

Those who govern us today arrived with a project that rejected that Chilean identity and removed our national identity from the center. By raising flags different from the Chilean one, they sought to leave ours behind, also forgetting that shield guarded by the condor and the huemul.

A strong and clear leadership is urgently needed to present a national project where national identity is at the center and, based on it, propose the changes that Chile needs. More than 200 years ago, those who inhabited this country questioned their future and embarked on a path of profound change that culminated in national independence. It is that questioning that we remember this week and that makes us reflect on the courage of those colonists who decided to embark on a new course—exactly what we need today!

The urgencies are many: growth, security, housing… but none of that will be possible without winning the government, maintaining it, and passing it on. Time is required to sow today and reap tomorrow.

National identity is present in every corner of the country, and the best example is a child, clearly the offspring of a Chilean and a foreigner, who was dressed in huaso pants and a poncho while dancing the cueca at the parade of the Los Quillayes community in the seventh region. That child, who at first glance one might not associate with our country, fully represents Chilean identity—pure national identity!

The patriotic parade in which the child danced showcased the entire community, where the central message was always home ownership. That dream, which is no longer spoken of, remains more alive than ever in deep Chile, where Chilean identity is lived daily and not just for September 18, where every day is a national holiday and where the connection with the cities is often lost.

We need to reconnect, not only among citizens but also with our political class, which is called to present the national project. Employment, pensions, education, security… undoubtedly, these are issues that will win many votes, but if we truly want to move Chile forward and put it back on the path to development, we need that national project that returns to our roots. Only then will we rebuild those solid foundations that have been undermined in recent times.

Institutionality is fundamental for this; our patriotic values rest there, and through it, we strengthen patriotism. This is something we also remember this week as we celebrate the Glories of the Army, which remind us of the men and women who have sworn to defend our sovereignty with their lives and who, in a different way from that child in the parade, are also pure Chilean identity.

Reconnecting should be the first urgency. To stop, look back, and gather strength to rebuild all that has fallen during these last years. Those who govern us today arrived with a project that rejected that Chilean identity and removed our national identity from the center. By raising flags different from the Chilean one, they sought to leave ours behind, also forgetting that shield guarded by the condor and the huemul.

That flag and that shield should guide those who seek to change the face of Chile, and the lone star should illuminate that political class so that it proposes a national project that reconnects with deep Chile, with Chilean identity, and with our national identity.