Do we like Gabriel Boric?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Moved on abortion access, coal phase-out and LGBTQ+ inclusion in office, with one real stain in the Monsalve handling and a contested Israel stance.
Boric came up as a student protest leader and then a congressman, and took the top job in March 2022, the day after Chile's marriage equality law took effect. He left on 11 March 2026 after four years, handing over to the far-right José Antonio Kast. His approval was low at the end, but he left saying he had his head held high.
The biggest stain is the Monsalve case. His former interior undersecretary, Manuel Monsalve, faces charges of rape and sexual abuse that are still before the courts, with a trial hearing pushed to March 2027. The case dented Boric's popularity because of alleged efforts by his administration to cover it up. In his farewell speech he said he took responsibility for how it was handled.
Boric faced his own scandal too. A 2024 complaint alleged sexual assault from a decade earlier, dating to 2013. His lawyer said he categorically denied it. In January 2025 the regional prosecutor closed the investigation and sought a definitive dismissal, with prosecutors reportedly finding no evidence for the alleged image leaks. Reports I read don't give a final court ruling.
On the harm check he comes up clean. In office he announced a bill to decriminalise abortion up to 14 weeks, though Reuters said it lacked the votes. He also announced an accelerated coal phase-out that brought the grid's decarbonisation target forward from 2040 to 2035. The Washington Blade reported he supports LGBTQ rights when he took office, and nothing harmful in his words or company turned up.
The contested bit is Israel and Gaza. He called for a ban on imports from illegally occupied territories, backed a Spanish-led arms embargo push, recalled military staff from Chile's embassy and summoned the ambassador. Where you land depends on whether you read that as principled pressure over Gaza or as a diplomatic overreach. It isn't harm to a group of people.
The recent run has been messy. His government and Kast's blew up over a Chile-China fibre cable, Kast suspended the transition team, and Boric still called for unity on the way out. Since then he's been seen riding the Metro, which split opinion between humble and political marketing, and reposted a band's clip insulting Kast. He hasn't responded to the demands for an apology.