It's early still but this has been quite a World Cup for the Western Hemisphere. Already through to the Round of 16 are the US, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. Chile also have a very clear path to advance on Friday. That leaves out Honduras, who was actually beaten first by Chile in the junior grupo de la muerte.
A fact; only Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and the Netherlands have won their first two matches in South Africa. With this many teams surging forward, more than a couple should advance pretty far.
Chilenos raised nearly $60 million USD during their weekend telethon. The event featured Inti-Illimani, Juanes, Los Tres, and Shakira (via video). It was hosted by the Jerry Lewis of Spanish-language telethons, Don Francisco of Sabado Gigante. Taking up way too much time between musical acts were the appearances of business leaders decked out in company fleeces, fleece vests, etc...promising funds which incidentally probably are all coming out Sebastian Pinera's pocket, titan of business that he is.
Closing out the show was Diego Torres performing "Color Esperanza", something of an anthem for Chile at the moment.
Weighing on my mind and that of plenty of other surfers around the world since last week's terremoto is the state of Chile's incredibly pristine surf spots and the pueblos that support Chile's surf community. I have dreamt about breaks like Punta Lobos (right) in Pichilemu and Buchupureo, since my friend Zach returned from studying in Chile nearly a decade ago weighed down with surf flicks and stories of cold water, tree covered bluffs and plenty of left points.
Patrick J. McDonnell, an LA Times reporter with a long history in Chile (read his play by play on how he and photographer Michael R. Chavez got to Chile in the hours post-sismo), provides some answers on how several of these coastal villages fared following the earthquake and multiple tsunami waves.
"A quick tour Saturday indicated that quake damage in the area was spotty, but downed buildings, damaged bridges and severed roads were in evidence everywhere. Especially hard hit was Pelluhue, about five miles to the north, where a scuba team searched for bodies in an estuary."
Also, a first-hand account from Pichilemu describes how people instinctively headed for higher ground under the light of the full moon. There are accounts of campers drowned by the surging ocean and whole swaths of coastline have been reshaped.
The Save the Waves Coalition, an organization that works to protect coastal areas and strengthen local communities, has worked in Chile for years and is collecting donations to assist in the recovery.
One of the bright spots in the coverage of the Chilean terremoto has been the work of TVN periodista, Santiago Pavlovic Urrionabarrenechea. If not "the most interesting man in the world", then certainly his brother in arms. As a war correspondent with an eye patch, he may in fact be his superior.
For your viewing pleasure, I present to you some of the reporting, more like commentary (and who wouldn't want this man's opinion?), of Don Santiago de la Cordillera de los Andes. The text reads, "the rage held by a reporter of a thousand battles".
Marc Cooper reports that Chile has imposed the first nightly curfews since the Pinochet period. Chaos is mounting in Concepcion, Constitucion, Talca, and other towns in the Maule and Biobio regions as residents seek out necessities such as diapers.
A terrifyingly large magnitude 8.8 earthquake has shaken Chile. The epicenter appears to have been between Concepcion and Santiago. Buildings, bridges and roads have been destroyed. The live stream above comes courtesy of Television Nacional de Chile.
Both this earthquake and that of Haiti seem to have struck at particular times of promise for their respective countries. In the case of Chile, I am reminded of an interview I recently read with the president-elect of Chile, Sebastian Pinera. In the interview with Andres Oppenheimer he says:
"the big goal we have set for ourselves is that within eight years, by 2018, Chile becomes perhaps the first country in Latin America that with great pride, but also with humbleness, will be able to say, `We have defeated underdevelopment. We have defeated poverty.' Chile today has a per capita income of about $14,400 [a year], and we hope to reach to $24,000 by 2018..."
These priorities will no doubt now have to be reappraised. However, Chile is most certainly not Haiti. The response from the Bachelet government and chilenos thus far appears to have been proactive. Time will tell if this earthquake dramatically changes the national psyche.
Frei and Pinera appear together with their families. The concession essentially took place right here. Talk about putting on a brave face.
No, they are not announcing a unity government nor were these two on the same slate. A strange but amazing tradition considering Chile's recent anti-democratic history.
Transparency at every turn. With the cameras on, Presidenta Bachelet wishes Eduardo Frei well and resists calling him a huevon for blowing the election, even though she has record approval ratings.
Pinera is on his way to el Palacio de la Moneda with a 3%+ advantage. The first democratically elected rightest government in 50 years.
The sleepy run-off between two sexagenarians has failed to elicit much interest. There are fewer signs in the street and polite applause at campaign events. The center left candidate, Eduardo Frei, was an unpopular former president and the conservative Sebastian Pinera's incredible wealth and ties to the Pinochet regime leave him with little in common with the Chilean people. If Pinera wins, it will be the first time that the Socialist/center-left coalition has lost in the post-Pinochet era.
The race has predictably tightened since the run-off that featured the elimination of two leftist candidates, notably Marco Enriquez Ominami, who was more bust than Barack. Still, voter registration is extremely low in Chile due to punitive fines that are assessed on those registered who do not vote. Only 9.2% of Chileans between the ages of 18-29 are registered. Polls close unusually early, starting at 2:30pm, so results should be available soon.
It's a busy couple of weeks in South America for politicians running for office. Plenty of hands to shake and speeches to give from sub-par sound systems. Here's a quick look at what's been happening across the continent:
Uruguay voted on November 29 to elect Jose Mujica, a former guerrilla leader who was shot at, tortured and imprisoned for 14 years, including two spent at the bottom of a well, while opposing a vicious string of military backed dictatorships in the 70's and 80's. A once strident leftist, he now professes a strong bent towards pragmatism, provided by his 74 years. I'm struck by his age and regret that a generation of progressive leaders throughout Latin America were silenced, killed or generally barred from participating in the "official" power structure of their country for so long by repressive and weak men.
Bolivians reelected Evo Morales by a wide margin on December 6. Morales did surprisingly well in the hotter, lower and more affluent regions of Santa Cruz which have been hostile to his efforts to redraw the constitution and nationalize the petroleum and resource extraction industries in the area. His base of support though still rests in the western, more indigenous departments of La Paz, Oruo, and Cochabamba. We will soon see if and how Morales intends to use this victory to remove term limits and continue to run for president as Chavez, Correa, and Uribe have been doing.
Chile votes on Sunday the 13th. The field of candidates is still crowded and many vote-seekers are presumably siphoning votes away from others. It awaits to be seen if Marco Enriquez Ominami, who is running an insurgent campaign that hits many of the themes Obama campaigned on, can steal a spot in the run-off from former president, Eduardo Frei, though time is running out. It appears certain that the conservative candidate, Sebastian Pinera, will finish first in the this round.
The nation's battle with its violent legacy emerged into the last minute campaigning this weekend as a judge charged three individuals with the murder of former president, Eduardo Frei Montalva, who is also the father of the candidate Frei. More on Chile in the days to come.
If Chile and Peru are not quarrelling about the origins of Pisco, it's maritime borders, or the intemperate remarks of Peruvian generals about sending their southerly neighbors home in plastic bags, or any other subject under the hot Atacama Desert sun. For well over a hundred years the two have engaged in cheap shots, snubs, the sheltering of would be coup plotters, and all out war with each other.
Of late, the belligerents are at odds over the alleged discovery of a spying operation conducted by Chile which led to the arrest of a mid-ranking Peruvian Air Force officer. Peru's President, Alan Garcia, accused Chile of acting like a dictatorial pseudo-republic. Chile's outgoing President, Michelle Bachelet, has called the charges offensive and said that Chile is not in the business of spying.
South America's foreign affairs and defense ministers will meet on Friday in Ecuador. We'll check in to see if a smack-down ensues.
It appears that the Concertacion coalition is in danger of losing its hold on the presidency for the first time since Pinochet ceded power in 1990. Inter-party struggles and a dearth of fresh and exciting candidates led the coalition to throw up Eduardo Frei, Chile's president from 1994-2000, as their candidate. Not as popular, progressive, or interesting as Michelle Bachelet, Frei belongs to the old-guard of the party and has not engendered passion among voters nor does he share progressive policy positions of importance to many Chilenos, such as the legalization of abortion.
Marco Enriquez-Ominami, the independent candidate who broke away from Concertacion, has gained the allegiance of the country's left but has failed to make inroads with many voters who may fault his youth, inexperience, or lack of Concertacion imprimatur. He is still polling in the mid-teens. The front-runner remains the center-right candidate Sebastian Pinera whose lead remains around 5% points over Frei. It may get quite uncomfortable for Ominami to stay in the race if the perception solidifies that he is siphoning votes away from Frei. The election is three months away. Below I have provided links to the websites for all three candidates, I give Frei the highest marks for his hip Euro/Socialist/candid photos of everyday Chilenos design:
First-term Chilean deputy, Marco Enriquez-Ominami,has seen his campaign for president soar over the last few weeks. At the end of May he was polling at 10%, now polls have him between 20-23%.
Due to Chile's law that no president can serve consecutive terms but are allowed to run after a "time-out", the pool of candidates for La Concertacion, who have ruled since the restoration of democracy in 1990, invariably includes former presidents. This has led to claims that the coalition is stale and lacks for new ideas. Enter Sr. Enriquez-Ominami. He has now left the Partido Socialista, and therefore the coalition, and will run against former President Eduardo Frei and front-runner Sebastian Pinera, media and LAN airline owner.
The December election is still some time off so of course it will be interesting to see if this independent candidate can maintain the momentum or if he falters.
"Las naciones, como los hombres, no tienen alas; hacen sus viajes a pie, paso par paso."
"Nations, like men, do not have wings; they make their journeys on foot, step by step."
-Juan Bautista Alberdi
It's early still but this has been quite a World Cup for the Western Hemisphere. Already through to the Round of 16 are the US, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. Chile also have a very clear path to advance on Friday. That leaves out Honduras, who was actually beaten first by Chile in the junior grupo de la muerte.
