Sawt Falasteen - Chile bids farewell to ex-president Pinera in state funeral

A military band in red conical hats played as Pinera's coffin, draped in the Chilean flag, was escorted to a cathedral in Santiago by guards on horseback for his funeral mass.

Pinera will later be buried in a private family ceremony attended by his widow, four children and grandchildren.

Former presidents and politicians from across the political spectrum attended the funeral ceremonies for Pinera, who ruled Chile from 2010 to 2014, and again between 2018 and 2022.

The 74-year-old billionaire returned the right wing to power for the first time after casting off the baggage of former dictator Augusto Pinochet.

His first term saw him oversee the reconstruction after a major earthquake, as well as the gripping rescue of 33 miners trapped in the Atacama Desert, both in 2010.

Four of these miners -- whose 69-day plight had the world on the edge of its seat -- paid tribute to Pinera and served as guards of honor on Thursday as he lay in state at Congress.

"Our rescue was very difficult, and we can thank (Pinera) for the fact that we are alive," said Luis Urzua, who was shift chief when the mine collapsed at a depth of 700 meters.

He said he had previously gone on helicopter rides with Pinera, saying it was the former leader's "passion, his life."

Pinera's helicopter crashed shortly after take-off into a lake on Tuesday where he and his family were on holiday some 920 kilometers (570 miles) south of Santiago.

Three other passengers survived the crash.

- Troubled second term -

Pinera's second term was fraught with trouble as he faced social uprising, the Covid-19 pandemic and the worst economic crisis in decades.

Leftist President Gabriel Boric, who led the opposition against Pinera before succeeding him in 2022, admitted in a ceremony in Congress on Friday that "complaints and recriminations" against Pinera had sometimes gone "beyond what was fair and reasonable."

"I recognize and appreciate that he never shied away from providing help and advice, despite the public differences we had in the past," Boric said.

He said Pinera had phoned him the day before his death to discuss the deadly wildfires that left 131 dead in the coastal region of Valparaiso.

Former socialist president Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010 and 2014-2018) described Pinera as a politician who "both during the dictatorship and the (social) uprising, chose the institutional solution of giving a voice to the people through the ballot box."

I.Saadi--SF-PST