Former Chiliean President Dies in Helicopter Crash
The people of Chile are now in mourning after a tragic helicopter crash was reported.
Sebastián Piñera, the two-time former president of Chile, was aboard a helicopter that crashed.
He was 74 years old.
He’s Gone
Piñera's death was confirmed by Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Tohá.
There were only limited details about the crash, as the country is currently amid a recovery from deadly wildfires that decimated the central part of the country.
Piñera's terms were never easy, serving from 2010 to 2014 and then again from 2018 to 2022.
During his time in office, Chile suffered through several natural disasters, including an earthquake and a tsunami.
He also happened to be in office when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, where he put in place very severe restrictions.
For instance, all events over 500 people were banned from taking place. He also ordered numerous lockdowns in different parts of the country that were experiencing high rates of infection and deaths.
Having said that, his orders resulted in Chile achieving one of the fastest vaccination rates in the entire world.
Through April 2021, there were 1.13 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 25,000 deaths.
Regardless of what people thought about him to that point, his legacy will always be marred by the protests that started to take place in 2019 regarding police repression against protesters.
At the time, Chileans were protesting against policies that remained in place dating back to the days of a military dictatorship.
This included the pension system, health care, and education.
To that point, there have been several attempts to update the country’s constitution, but they have failed each time.
Outside of politics, Piñera was the 5th richest person in Chile, worth an estimated $3 billion.
Among other investment ventures, he had created one of the largest credit card companies in the world, responsible for first introducing credit cards to Chile.
