'His life ended with an act of heroism': Chilean journalist John Müller remembers the life of Sebastián Piñera

The director of Voz Media, Mario Noya, spoke in an exclusive interview with the Chilean-Spanish journalist John Müller (from Radio Pauta in Chile and the newspaper ABC in Spain) about the tragedy that ended the life of the former president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera. He spoke of the legacy Piñera leaves and how history will treat him.

"The country is shocked. Sebastián Piñera was 74 years old. His disappearance is an abrupt episode. Piñera was very active and present in Chilean news. His public opinion had greatly improved," Müller told Voz Media.

"Piñera was very present in public conversation. It was even said that his improvement in the polls was tempting him to run for a third term."

Müller explained that Piñera was the first right-wing president in Chile since the end of Augusto Pinochet's military regime in 1990: "He managed to bring the right to power, with a format of defender of the market, of the Chilean liberal model, but willing to make adjustments to make it more friendly."

"He was a defender of democracy," the journalist stressed.

For John Müller, although Piñera's figure will probably transcend now, he leaves a legacy that will be difficult to emulate.

"I don't know if such a personal legacy can be collected. Because Piñera was an extraordinary character. He had many flaws, but he was a guy who did everything well. He was an above-average guy. He knew how to make money. And when he already had a fortune, he entered politics. He did well as a senator, and he must have done well as president because they elected him twice," the journalist said.

"He has very personal attributes. Maybe he was not a Nobel Prize winner in economics, but he was a doctor. Maybe he was not the richest, but he was a billionaire. Maybe he was not the best politician, but he was president twice," he added.

Müller highlights the role that Sebastián Piñera played in leading the rescue of the thirty-three miners trapped 600 meters deep in the San José Mine in the northern part of the country in August 2010. Piñera personally assumed the leadership of a mission that seemed improbable and captivated the entire world in suspense for more than two months.

"The true legacy with the passage of time will be when Chileans discover that what Piñera did by removing the 33 miners from the depths of the earth, where those men were sentenced to death, was an extraordinary event," Müller said.

"Piñera committed to removing the miners without even knowing if the means to locate them existed," he added.

Regarding the tragedy of this Tuesday, February 6, Müller illustrated how eloquent it is that the life of an exceptional man also ended in an exceptional way. In a fearless effort that allowed the lives of the three people who accompanied Piñera in the helicopter he piloted to be saved.

"Piñera, seeing that the helicopter was failing, went down until he got as close as possible to the water's surface so the three occupants could jump. He, since he was the pilot, could not jump. He had to crash into the ship and drowned. That gives him characteristics of a hero and personal dedication, which will turn this accident of President Piñera into a myth.".

Journalist John Müller is convinced that, after the accident, Piñera's figure "will be enhanced."

"There were qualities of his personality that adorned him: the will, the persistence, the tenacity, the determination to sustain a long-term strategy. He also loved Chile," he said.

View the complete interview by clicking here.