Gabriel Boric has been outed as a Swiftie

Gabriel Boric’s favourite Taylor Swift album is Folklore. According to TheSwiftSociety on Twitter, Chile’s incoming president first came across the musician over lockdown and declared himself a “#swiftie” on August 28 this year while wearing one of the singer’s promotional cardigans. The news comes as thousands of young Chileans flock to social media to celebrate Boric’s win against far-right opponent Antonio Kast – a move they hope will finally restore peace to the country following the bitter legacy of its 17-year dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet, a vitriolic leader whose policies continue to scar the nation.

As Chile bids adios to President Sebastian Pinera, a right-wing billionaire, netizens are rejoicing at the prospect of a 35-year-old stan taking charge of the country’s politics. It’s not just Taylor Swift that Boric has aligned himself with, however, but nu-metal stalwarts like Tool, Rammstein, Deftones, and Nine Inch Nails, having been spotted wearing their merch on many occasions. Others have found images of the president wearing a Nirvana t-shirt, which he wore to meet with Americas Quarterly editor in chief Brian Winter in 2018. He was then photographed clasping a photo of K-pop singer Jeongyeon while reenacting her trademark “finger heart” hand gesture. Dreading the moment that someone makes him say “gay rights” into their iPhone camera but I feel it’s imminent…

If any of this sounds glib then it’s worth repeating what Boric had to say during his victory speech, when he told voters that “in the coming years, the future of our country is at stake, so I guarantee that I will be a president who cares for democracy and does not risk it, listens more than speaks, seeks unity, and attends to the needs of the people daily,” he said. “We know there continues to be justice for the rich, and justice for the poor, and we no longer will permit that the poor keep paying the price of Chile’s inequality.” Only time will tell as to whether Boric will be able to apply those same ethics to warring standoms, too.