Chile: Historic visit by President Gabriel Boric to the South Pole

Chilean President Gabriel Boric made a historic visit to the South Pole on Friday, reaffirming Chile’s “claim of sovereignty” over the part of the white continent that it considers part of the national territory, the presidency announced.

Gabriel Boric is the first leader from the American continent to go to the South Pole, according to the same source.

“This is an important step for us. This is the first time that a Chilean president has reached the South Pole, which testifies to Chile’s Antarctic vocation,” declared the head of state, according to images broadcast live by national television (TVN).

“Our claim to sovereignty”

Gabriel Boric arrived shortly before 8:00 p.m. GMT (9:00 p.m. Swiss time) at the American Amundsen-Scott base, located at the South Pole, in one of the most remote and hostile regions on the planet. He was to stay there for two hours.

This journey to the southernmost point of the planet “is a reaffirmation of our claim to sovereignty” over Antarctica, assured Gabriel Boric.

It “comes at an important time for Chile’s scientific activities in the region,” said the Chilean presidency when announcing the trip.

Basics for scientific expeditions

Historically, Chile has concentrated its activities in the northern sector of the Antarctic Peninsula. But it is now seeking to extend them “to the sectors of the Bellingshausen Sea and the Weddell Sea”, which surround the peninsula, specified the presidency.

During the 20th century, countries such as Chile but also France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Japan set up bases in Antarctica, as part of scientific expeditions while asserting their presence in the region.

Since 1961, activities in the region have been governed by the Antarctic Treaty, which aims to preserve the continent from international rivalries. Chile is one of the signatories to the treaty.

“The United States and most other countries do not recognize these claims”

The US State Department says seven countries, including Chile, maintain territorial claims to Antarctica, but “the United States and most other countries do not recognize these claims.”

President Boric was accompanied by the Minister of Defense and the Secretary of the Environment, as well as the three commanders of the armed forces.

The delegation traveled from Punta Arenas in southern Chile to the Glaciar Union base on the Antarctic continent aboard a Hercules C-130 aircraft. From there, she reached the South Pole aboard two helicopters and two Air Force planes.

In 2007, the New Zealand Prime Minister at the time, Helen Clark, went to the South Pole, followed in 2011 by the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, recalls the Chilean presidency. Jens Stoltenberg celebrated the centenary of the first expedition to reach the South Pole, led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, on December 14, 1911.

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