Heads Of State

"Starting in October 2019, hundreds of thousands of people participated in months of anti-government protests—a so-called “social explosion” — which culminated in a national vote in 2020 to rewrite the Pinochet-era constitution. If elected, Boric, who has spent the past seven years as a congressman arguing for the ideals expressed in the social explosion, promises to kill off the old model for good. A Boric - led leftwing coalition would hike taxes on major industries, ramp up public spending to overhaul services, and scrap the private pension system that has underpinned Chile’s capital markets. “If Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave,” he told a rally in July after winning the primary for leftist bloc Approve Dignity."

"At last. The specter of Pinochet is removed from Chile... Congratulations to fellow Progressive International member Gabriel Boric... The hard work to redistribute wealth in Chile begins now."

"On Monday the Chilean Elections Qualifying Tribunal, Tricel, officially proclaimed Gabriel Boric as president-elect of Chile, following his victory in the runoff last 19 December. The ceremony was held at the Tricel offices in Santiago but under the most strict security and sanitary measures given the surge in Covid 19 cases. One representative per media was allowed in and the rest had to follow the ceremony via streaming. President elect Boric will be taking the oath of office next March 11, at the Chilean congress in Valparaíso. Before returning to Santiago, Boric spent Christmas and New Year with his family at his hometown of Punta Arenas, where despite his refusal, the City Municipal Council decided to name him “Favorite Son” of the extreme south Magallanes Region capital."

"This (extrajudicial killings of thousands of people committed by Military Forces of Colombia partly during Santo's term as defensee minister) should never have happened. I recognize that and ask forgiveness from all the mothers and their families, victims of this horror, from the depths of my soul."

"If Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave. Do not be afraid of the youth changing this country... We are a generation that emerged in public life demanding our rights be respected as rights and not treated like consumer goods or a business... We no longer will permit that the poor keep paying the price of Chile's inequality."

"We are going to give priority to the Pacific Alliance in the future. I have already spoken with several of the presidents, in particular with [Andrés] Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, with President [[W: Iván Duque|[Iván] Duque]] of Colombia, and we have also been in contact with the Peruvian Foreign Ministry."

"Since I was a child I've been hearing the word de-centralization, and I agree that one of the impediments for Chile's development is the excessive centralization we have, and it is the job, a new president to address firmly the issue....Let me tell you that patronage, cronyism and quotas are definitively over."

"Ten years ago, Gabriel Boric was a 25 year-old student protester... leading tens of thousands of young people through the streets of Santiago. As head of a major student union, he shook Chile’s establishment by leading rallies that brought reforms to Chile’s privatized education system. Today... Boric is within striking distance of Chile’s presidency. Chile’s Dec. 19 election, where Boric holds a narrow lead, is the most high-stakes moment yet in a tumultuous two year national debate over the market-centered economic model established by military dictator Augusto Pinochet in the 1980s. With deregulated business and privatized public services and natural resources, the system helped make Chile a haven for foreign investors and one of the richest countries in South America. But it has also generated the highest rate of inequality in the OECD group of developed nations and untenable living costs for poorer Chileans, with six in ten households earning too little to cover monthly expenses..."

"If there is a will, if there is determination, the resources will be mobilized"

"We are a lot richer because we have two languages"

"Regarding study and learning, there are no second chances"

"Security and stability are strategic resources for Cape Verde and I will pay particular attention to them."

"We have lost almost half of the 48 years of independence, as Guinea-Bissau has been plunged into political crises of a different nature. All these crises have had negative impacts on public institutions and on the economic life of our country, with serious social consequences."

"It wasn't just a coup. It was an attempt to kill the president, the prime minister and the entire cabinet."

"You don't know what you have until you lose it."

"President Danilo Medina of the Dominican Republic has ignored our long-term partnership, the wishes of the people of the Dominican Republic, and the years of development assistance provided by Taiwan, to accept false promises of investment and aid by (mainland) China."

"Universality is a basic principle of the UN (United Nations). And based on that principle, we support the inclusion of Taiwan within the United Nations system."

"The Republic of Somaliland is committed to working with democratic nations such as the US. We profoundly discussed Somaliland-US relations, stability, development, vibrant democracies and elections."

"I have an ambition to push at the level of the African Union, that we should have a harmonized legislation in the petroleum and also the mining sector so as to avoid ruinous competition with the aim of attracting investors."

"I would like to express my deep gratitude to all the servicemen (Russian peacekeepers and the Artsakh Defense Army) standing in the defense of the motherland, as well as to all members of the peacekeeping force and personally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose direct efforts have thwarted Turkish aspirations in the region."

"We won't sacrifice our ties with any of our allies or good friends over business relations with another country. We firmly believe no country in the world can restrict our sovereign decision to make friends with another country."

"The (3rd Turkey-Africa Partnership) Summit went very well for all participating countries. All African leaders were highly satisfied. Today, there is a very effective partnership between Turkey and Africa, based on equal foundations and the win-win principle, but most importantly, Turkey gives great importance to mutual respect in its relationship with Africa. This is a very important issue for African countries."

"My appeal is to respect the people's intelligence and to put before them clear and unequivocal working programs and policies that will be implemented if (I am) chosen to lead (the country in the upcoming general election)."

"Please care for it, because we care about it. Please use it wisely, because we have used it wisely."

"Africa’s future depends on how we empower our youth today."

"Women bring a different perspective to leadership, one rooted in inclusiveness and compassion."

"Democracy must deliver dignity and hope, not just institutions."

"Peace is not simply the absence of war; it is the presence of justice, equality, and opportunity."

"For the mother who sees her child die because of lack of food, the economy of resource scarcity is irrelevant and the politics of public policy does not matter; they do not help a grieving mother, she has lost her child because there is no food, worst still, because no one cares."

"It (widespread travel bans imposed against Botswana due to the emerging of Omicron coronavirus variant) is unnecessary and if you ask me, for lack of a better expression, irresponsible. The (four) diplomats (who tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus) came from a number of countries ... and they passed through a number of countries to get to Botswana."

"“I grew up in a family of four girls. I’m the firstborn. But I had a very amazing family especially my father, who has always told us that there is nothing that a woman or a girl cannot do. So this has been my motto all my life and in whatever I did, by the way, I was the first woman to do this, the first woman to do that, so I was daring.”"

"As you are best placed to know, young people are rarely consulted in meaningful ways during the creation of strategies. Nor are they identified as a major group experiencing unemployment and poverty. Few of the action plans link youth-focused strategies to specific targets and budget outlays or regard the youth situation as a major cross-cutting issue."

"If the history of Africa was written by Africans and by women, I think we would find many unsung heroes."

"Child hunger is a moral challenge to us all. As a citizen, I find that hunger is not just a moral issue but it is also a political issue in the larger sense of the word"

"The absence of peace victimizes firstly women, so during my tenure, I will emphasize women’s roles in ensuring peace and the dividends of peace for women."

"I recognize that no society or political order is perfect but we have the duty and obligation to ensure that we are moving toward a less imperfect political order to a more perfect order for all citizens."

"Government and opposition parties have to understand we are living in a common house and focus on things that unite us, not what divides us, to create a country and generation that will make all of us proud"

"I dream of an Ethiopia, of an Africa that is free of hunger, a world where no mother should bury their child because of hunger or worst still because no one cares."

"In assuming the position of President of this Republic on this important day, I need your support, your prayers and blessings to effectively fulfil the Presidential Oath that I have just taken. I once again pledge to play my part and to do my outmost best to address the needs of the people of this nation and to work with you to realise both our dreams and our vision as a nation."

"In so many areas — agriculture, transport, energy, the water sector, multisector — the support we have been getting for years from the African Development Bank, up to more than one billion dollars, has been very vital for Ethiopia."

"Let me assure you that I will do my best not only as an Ethiopian but as an African in my heart and soul; so that we can show the world that women can also deliver, maybe differently, but deliver."

"Despite many obstacles facing young people, they are always hopeful and optimistic that they will be able to enter the job market and make significant contributions to their society; and they are placing increasing importance in creating their own opportunities and becoming entrepreneurs, including in growing areas, such as green technologies."

"Funds raised from diamonds have not just built our roads, but also our people."

"The fact that you buy our diamonds is by itself an act of commitment to our country- wherever you are, you carry a bit of Botswana with you"

"You can't question a people's history and you can't insult the Algerians."

"I welcome the position of Bulgaria which proposes the start of Albania's membership negotiations with the European Union as soon as possible."

"Jose Mujica, a former leader of the Marxist Tupamaros guerrilla group, left behind a progressive model of governance, characterized by frugality, simplicity and focused leadership. With a moral and ethical underpinning that emphasizes love, concern and sacrifice, his model of leadership is a telling lesson to a world run by cabals and institutions whose sole idea of development revolves around exploitative and lopsided power relations... In November 2009, at 74, Pepe, as he is fondly called, was elected president, having polled 53 per cent of the vote. The result is a new, improved Uruguay, economically strong, politically stable, socially bonded and with a reduced crime rate. Mujica... demonstrates a genuine spirit of selflessness and concern for his people... The 79-year old Mujica, who as president, lived with his wife in his rustic farm settlement in the country-side and drove to work in his weather-beaten 1987 Volkswagen Beetle, has been renowned for other eccentricities: even while in office, he grew flowers, enjoyed the bucolic wild, and continually soaked his intellect in classical philosophy texts from Plato, Seneca to Marx and Segundo. While he sees himself as a ‘humble peasant’, he has been variously described as ‘the most incredible politician’, ‘best leader in the world’, and even ‘the world’s poorest president’."

"Pepe Mujica, former president of Uruguay who enjoys almost universal admiration in Latin America, said: “Anyone who looks at a map to say that Venezuela could be a threat has to be quite mad. Venezuelans have a marvelous Constitution – the most audacious in all of Latin America.” [xi]"

"To see him today, now aged 78, sitting on his wooden chair, surrounded by books and silence, a pair of sandals on his feet and a bust of Che Guevara opposite him, you might take Mujica for some Latino Diogenes, a benevolent patriarch, the last man on Earth and obviously indignant. He is also one of the few people to have experienced nothingness, spending two years' captivity at the bottom of a well... The international media have described him as "the most incredible politician" or indeed "the best leader in the world". Some have suggested he should win the next Nobel peace prize. He is also thought to be the world's poorest president, because he gives almost 90% of his income to low-income housing organisations. He is not very keen on such labels. The pinnacle of his presidential career came in June 2012 when defence minister Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro announced that the state would be taking over the production and sale of marijuana, which would be legalised and regulated... Mujica, who says he has never smoked a joint and knows very well that 62% of voters are opposed to legalisation, yet has no qualms about launching the world's first state-grown marijuana. He says it is a question of public security and that he is determined to separate consumers from dealers, and marijuana from other narcotics... He may indeed be a bit crazy, but he is also captivating and quite unique among world leaders."

"President José Mujica of Uruguay, a 78-year-old former Marxist guerrilla who spent 14 years in prison, mostly in solitary confinement, recently visited the United States to meet with President Obama and speak at a variety of venues. He told Obama that Americans should smoke less and learn more languages. He lectured a roomful of businessmen at the US Chamber of Commerce about the benefits of redistributing wealth and raising workers’ salaries. He told students at American University that there are no “just wars.” Whatever the audience, he spoke extemporaneously and with such brutal honesty that it was hard not to love the guy... Mujica’s influence goes far beyond that of the leader of a tiny country of only 3 million people. In a world hungry for alternatives, the innovations that he and his colleagues are championing have put Uruguay on the map as one of the world’s most exciting experiments in creative, progressive governance."