海角大神

In Barrio Yungay, an edgy central Santiago neighborhood, an artist-owned sourdough bakery rubs shoulders with the Chilean city鈥檚 oldest barbershop and a mini-market with a flickering back light that sells vegetables, dairy products, and snacks.

Now聽the district聽will be home to a president, too, in a powerful sign of changing times in the Andean nation, where anger has risen in recent years over stark inequality and an entrenched ruling elite.

Gabriel Boric, a 36-year-old former student protest leader and lawmaker, will be sworn in as Chile鈥檚 youngest ever聽president on Friday, having pledged to rip up the country鈥檚 conservative, market-orientated rule book and push progressive social reform.

Unlike his predecessors, Mr. Boric has opted to live in downtown Santiago rather than the capital鈥檚 wealthy eastern zone of sprawling homes far from the dense city center and flanked by the Andes. Chile has no official presidential residence.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good and notable that the president is coming to live in real Chile,鈥� said Beatrice di Girolamo, who runs the bakery, half a block east from new barricades for presidential security.

鈥淭here are all kinds of people here. Homeless people, people who are well off. There are ordinary people, elegant people. There鈥檚 a lot of immigration.鈥�

Mr. Boric, the head of a broad leftist coalition who came from outside the mainstream political parties, rattled the establishment with fiery rhetoric last year about tearing up Chile鈥檚 market-orientated model, though has moderated his tone since winning a December election, talking up gradual change.

However, he has looked to set store as a progressive, with a majority female Cabinet for the first time in Chile鈥檚 history, strong support for LGBTQ groups, and a focus on聽fighting聽climate change.

Mr. Boric鈥檚 team declined to comment on his choice of new home, but the message is clear: making a break from past political leaders many say had become disconnected from the people.

Less garbage, more security

Amid Santiago鈥檚 high rises, Yungay stands out with colorful one- and two-story buildings and a medley of elaborate murals. Perfectly preserved buildings stand next to others with crumbling facades.

The area also hints at some of the challenges facing Mr. Boric, who will need to keep Chile鈥檚 economy humming even as he looks to bolster environmental regulation of mining, bring down inflation, raise taxes for social spending, and tackle fears about crime and immigration, key voter concerns.

Once an aristocratic neighborhood,聽the area聽is now home to a working-class community and a melting pot for immigrants from Peru, Venezuela, and Colombia.

Carlos Noriega, an owner of the Donde Carlitos mini-market on Mr. Boric鈥檚 new street, said in the last three years聽local聽crime has picked up.聽He said his聽store was robbed at gunpoint in 2020, a year after violent months-long protests broke out against inequality that many blamed on a constitution dating to the Augusto Pinochet-era dictatorship.

Mr. Noriega and others said the area鈥檚 new neighbor had already brought benefits: less garbage on the street, more security, and graffiti being painted over. Mr. Boric has passed by his store, he said, but he鈥檚 still waiting for him to become a customer.

Others said Mr. Boric would have to get used to the neighborhood鈥檚 rough edges.

Security teams have blocked off Boric鈥檚 busy street with gates and check every car entering, from government vehicles to beaten-up old Volkswagens driven by locals.

Eliza Pacheco, who lives in front of the president鈥檚 new building with her husband and daughter, said she felt safer now, though worried about street protests on her doorstep.

鈥淗e has to assume the consequences of anything that happens. That鈥檚 his responsibility,鈥� Ms. Pacheco said. 鈥淗e has to adapt to us, we don鈥檛 have to adapt to him.鈥�

This story was reported by Reuters.