I ADDRESS YOU, MR. PRESIDENT:

While Brazil steps forward with decisive sanctions, President Boric’s ever-classic “let’s be cautious” reveals itself as inaction that condemns Chile to the role of a mere spectator in the historic passage of a genocide.

This editorial critically analyzes the divergence between Chile’s and Brazil’s responses to the genocide in Gaza. It argues that while Brazil enforces military and diplomatic sanctions as a sign of bold and pragmatic leadership, Chile’s position—anchored in a caution that has become paralysis—represents a renunciation of moral responsibility. Chilean inaction is not a viable diplomatic strategy. The recent shift in Western countries toward recognizing Palestine underscores how futile that caution has become. The Boric administration and Congress are called upon to rise to the historical imperative and join a unified front capable of stopping the genocide.

President Boric himself has formally referred to the events in Gaza as genocide. This verbal recognition places Chile—at least discursively—on the right side of history. But such a political and moral act, however courageous at first, imposes an inevitable consequence: coherence in action. There is no longer room to invoke traditional caution as justification for inaction or excessive restraint. Having named the crime, a line has been drawn that morally compels stepping forward with concrete measures.

The news that Brazil has imposed forceful sanctions against Israel—suspending military exports, withdrawing its ambassador, and joining the case at the International Court of Justice—is a beacon in the darkness of inaction and a mirror in which Chile must see itself.

Brazil did not settle for verbal condemnation. Its actions—suspension of military exports, breaking diplomatic channels, and active participation at the ICJ—demonstrate leadership willing to pay real costs to exert real pressure. Brazil places the lives of thousands of Palestinians above political convenience and commercial gain. It calls on Latin America to unite in stopping what has clearly been named: genocide.

Chile has taken some steps, such as the temporary withdrawal of its ambassador, support for parliamentary initiatives questioning trade involving goods from illegal settlements, and firm statements in multilateral forums. But when the country’s leadership has defined these events as genocide, such measures are plainly insufficient. The principal responsibility lies with President Boric and Congress, who must overcome the political and economic calculations that have so far blocked stronger action.

Countries traditionally aligned with the West—including some with deep ties to Israel—are now unmistakably signaling that the status quo is no longer tenable. The debate over recognition of the Palestinian state is no longer taboo even in countries like Canada—highlighting the emptiness of Chile’s cautious approach.

The only real “losses” would be diplomatic tensions or moderate commercial costs—insignificant compared to the magnitude of the crime. History will judge harshly those who remained in the comfort of inaction while atrocities continued. In this context, caution is not prudence but abdication—and the cost will be both historical and moral.

Mr. President, you have already recognized that what is happening in Gaza is genocide. That word changes everything. Any subsequent caution—due to economic pressure, electoral calculus, or fear of reprisal—is rendered indefensible once the crime has been named. History will not measure your diplomatic balancing act, but whether you lived up to the gravity of the crime you yourself have denounced.

This editorial does not demand impulsiveness, but coherence. It is not a call to react under pressure, but to do what is right—because it has already been declared that what is happening is intolerable. Congress, having rightfully heard the clamor of civil society, must understand that paralysis is also a form of complicity. In this historic moment, certain ambiguities cost lives.

Because if Chile, having already named the genocide, continues choosing caution, it is humanity as a whole that will pay the price of this historic passage in blood—as always happens when horror is met with silence.

Respectfully,
Claudia Aranda

 

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