The Croatian roots of Chile’s leftist president Gabriel Boric
by Sam Jones and John Bartlett in Santiago from on (#5T7RA)
His ancestors were among the tens of thousands who left Croatia for Patagonia in the 19th century
Like many in his home city of Punta Arenas, Gabriel Boric is of Croatian descent. His father's ancestors were among the tens of thousands of Croatians who left their homeland at the end of the 19th century to travel to Chilean Patagonia in search of new opportunities. Many others sought fresh starts in neighbouring Argentina over the same period.
Chile is now home to one of the largest Croatian diasporas in the world, with an estimated population of between 200,000 and 400,000 people of Croatian descent.
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