Chilean president prepares for his term’s last May 21
address
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/chile/politics/26173-chilean-president-prepares-for-his-terms-last-may-21-address
Valparaíso braces for protests before President Sebestián
Piñera arrives in the port city to give his national address to Congress.
The Presidential Message is one of two national addresses
given to a joint session of Congress every year. Since 1926, the speech has
been given on May 21 and is carried on many of the nation’s radio and
television stations via a unified broadcast known as the “Cadena Nacional.” The
system is a voluntary one used to carry official government messages and
emergency warnings to reach a large number of Chilean citizens. The other
national address is given to Congress on Sept. 18.
Sebastián Piñera
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastián_Piñera
photos
http://www.google.hr/search?q=sebasti%C3%A1n+pi%C3%B1era+biography&client=opera&hs=43W&channel=suggest&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gK2bUe6pLIPZ4ATe4ICoCA&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=991&bih=651
Sebastián Piñera
http://worldnews.about.com/od/chile/p/sebastianpinera.htm
Who is he?:
The president of Chile who won election on Jan. 17,
2010, and was set to take office on March 11, 2010. A Harvard-educated investor
who ranked #701 on Forbes' 2009 list of the world's billionaires and founded
credit giant Bancard.
Dec. 1, 1949, in Santiago.
His father was Chile's
ambassador to Belgium
and to the United Nations. He has three brothers and two sisters; his brother
Jose was Minister of Labour under Augusto Pinochet.
Personal life:
Married Cecilia Morel Montes in 1973; they have four
children: Magdalena, Cecilia, Sebastián,
Cristóbal.
Political affiliation:
Leader of the center-right Coalition for Change; now
officially an independent. His election marked the first elected right-leaning
leader in 52 years.
Career:
After receiving a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard, Piñera
taught economics in Chile.
He amassed much of his fortune by bringing credit cards to Chile; he also now owns a television channel, a
stake in Chile's
most successful soccer club and a large stake in the country's national
airline. He was campaign director for a former finance minister of Pinochet in
1989, and served as senator for East Santiago
from 1990–1998. He was president of the center-right National Renewal Party
from 2001-04. He first ran for president in 2005 and lost to Michelle Bachelet.
He won against a center-left candidate in the 2010 runoff.
Future:
Piñera faces a hefty transition when he comes into office:
On Feb. 27, 2009, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile, heaping an extra challenge
on the new leader as the country transitions from 20 years of center-left rule.
Piñera has vowed not to make sweeping changes, though, to the social programs
and policies that give Bachelet a high approval rating as she leaves office. He
describes his governing philosophy as Christian humanism. He will most likely
be at odds with the center-left forces on the continent, including Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales.
Culture
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/culture
Santiago's
Universidad Católica hosts 126 works printed by The New York Times Magazine
under the quarter-century-long tenure of photo editor Kathy Ryan.
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/culture/arts/26108-ny-times-magazine-photography-exhibition-comes-to-chilean-capital
Fine art on the streets of Santiago
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/culture/arts/25625-fine-art-on-the-streets-of-santiago
Persa Bio Bio’s flea market is the setting for almost 40
Chilean artists to exhibit their
work.
Chile
promotes ten new travel destinations
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/culture/events/26115-chile-promotes-ten-new-travel-destinations
From southern fishing ports to the ruins of a sulphur mine
high in the Atacama Desert, Sernatur is looking to extend tourism in Chile beyond
its traditional travel magnets.