Chile Holds a State Funeral for Former President Piñera

On Friday, the State funeral in honor of former President Sebastian Piñera began at the former headquarters of the National Congress in Santiago.

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Senate President Juan Coloma was the first authority to speak about the 74-year-old politician. President Gabriel Boric, Supreme Court President Ricardo Blanco, and former Presidents Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle and Michelle Bachelet, will also deliver speeches.

The ceremony will conclude with a "guard of honor" led by Boric, Bachelet, and Frei Ruiz-Tagle, who will escort Piñera's coffin for a few minutes.

After the ceremony, the funeral procession will depart for the Metropolitan Cathedral, where the Archbishop of Santiago, Fernando Chomali, will officiate a mass.

Subsequently, the procession will pass by the seat of the Executive power, La Moneda Palace, where the Presidential Guard and Boric will pay a final tribute to Piñera.

Finally, the body of the former president will be buried in the family crypt at the Parque del Recuerdo cemetery.

On Tuesday, Piñera was piloting the helicopter that crashed over Lake Ranco, an exclusive resort more than 800 kilometers south of the capital where he spent summers with his family.

Since Wednesday afternoon, his supporters have been attending the wake to bid farewell to Piñera, who governed in non-consecutive terms (2010-2014 and 2018-2022).