{"id":377674,"date":"2010-03-01T22:08:42","date_gmt":"2010-03-02T03:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org\/?p=125572"},"modified":"2010-03-01T22:08:42","modified_gmt":"2010-03-02T03:08:42","slug":"chile-political-points-amidst-the-earthquake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/377674","title":{"rendered":"Chile: Political Points Amidst the Earthquake"},"content":{"rendered":"

On March 11, Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era will be sworn in as the new President of Chile<\/a>, replacing the current president Michelle Bachelet. The presidential transition will take place<\/a> despite the earthquake, and political observers\u2014criticized by some who think this is not the time to analyze politics\u2014have begun searching for political implications to the disastrous events of the weekend.<\/p>\n

Blogger and university professor Patricio Navia [es]<\/a> begins his post by saying that Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era will come out of this catastrophe as the political winner: <\/p>\n

\n

Ning\u00fan gobierno aspira a enfrentar un desastre natural mientras est\u00e1 en el poder. Pero si se pudiese escoger el momento para un devastador terremoto, el comienzo del periodo -o justo antes de asumir- es preferible a los \u00faltimos d\u00edas de mandato. En ese sentido, Pi\u00f1era tiene mucho m\u00e1s que ganar pol\u00edticamente que Bachelet. Aunque los errores que cometa Pi\u00f1era en estos d\u00edas tambi\u00e9n le pesar\u00e1n m\u00e1s que los traspi\u00e9s en que incurra el saliente gobierno [\u2026]<\/p>\n

A su vez, como no ha asumido el poder, a Pi\u00f1era nadie lo har\u00e1 responsable de los desaciertos, atrasos y errores de la respuesta estatal inmediata. Ya que la reconstrucci\u00f3n comenzar\u00e1 durante su mandato, \u00e9l har\u00e1 los anuncios de nuevas obras y tambi\u00e9n las inauguraciones posteriores.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

No government aspires to face a natural disaster while in office. But if one could pick the moment for a devastating earthquake, the beginning of the presidential term \u2013or just before being sworn in- is preferable to the last days of governing. In this sense, Pi\u00f1era has a lot more to win politically than Bachelet. Even though the errors Pi\u00f1era commits in these days will also weigh on him more than the slip-ups of the departing administration [\u2026]<\/p>\n

At the same time, since he hasn't been sworn in, no one will hold Pi\u00f1era accountable for the mishaps, delays, and errors of the immediate response from the State. Since the reconstruction will begin during his term, he will announce the new projects and their inaugurations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He concludes that if the current president and the president-elect honestly collaborate in their efforts, then both can gain politically:<\/p>\n

\n

Si colaboran, Bachelet cerrar\u00e1 su gobierno brillantemente y Pi\u00f1era iniciar\u00e1 el suyo con el pie derecho. Si en cambio compiten por el liderazgo, ambos saldr\u00e1n perjudicados.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If they collaborate, Bachelet will close her term brilliantly and Pi\u00f1era will begin his with the right foot forward. If they compete for leadership instead, both will come out at a disadvantage.\n<\/div>\n
\"Apartment<\/a><\/p>\n

Apartment Buildings in Maipu, Santiago. Picture uploaded by flickr user Raponchi and used under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This analysis didn\u2019t sit well with many readers that considered Navia to be out of touch in presenting a political spin during such a tragic time for Chile. Carlos Garc\u00eda commented on Navia\u2019s blog post by saying:<\/p>\n

\n

Creo que es un gran error sacar cuentas cortas del oportunismo pol\u00edtico que puede generar una cat\u00e1strofe de este tipo. Hoy hay Chilenos desaparecidos, gente sepultada a\u00fan con vida y m\u00e1s de un millon de Chilenos perdieron sus hogares y que en lo \u00faltimo que piensan es sobre que pol\u00edtico podr\u00eda beneficiarse.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I think it is a big mistake to calculate the political opportunism that such a catastrophe can generate. Today there are Chileans that have disappeared, people buried alive, and more than a million Chileans that have lost their homes and the last thing they think about is which politician can benefit.\n<\/div>\n

A few users defended the blog post, like user Carlos who wrote:<\/p>\n

\n

Creo que es una vision realista de lo que pasa. Lamentablemente asi es la politica y no me cabe duda que los comandos politicos han hecho estas evaluaciones. Los que estan rasgando vestiduras no conocen la naturaleza humana y menos a los politicos.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I think it is a realistic vision of what is happening. Unfortunately that is what politics is like and I have no doubt that political parties have already made these calculations. Those that are tearing their clothes don't know human nature and even less what politicians are like.\n<\/div>\n

Juan Francisco Coloane wrote a blog post titled \u201cThe Politics of Nature\u201d<\/em><\/a> [es] where he says that in spite of what critics may say, this earthquake proves that nature affects politics:<\/p>\n

\n

En la “hermandad pol\u00edtica” de coadministradores del sistema, cualquier divergencia anterior pasaba a segundo plano. <\/p>\n

La naturaleza con su terremoto se convert\u00eda en el agente m\u00e1s pol\u00edtico, sin dise\u00f1o previo y como factor inesperado. Es la especial pol\u00edtica de la naturaleza que no est\u00e1 en los manuales pol\u00edticos. [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Entonces la premisa de que “la pol\u00edtica de la naturaleza es apol\u00edtica” no es cierta.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

In the \u201cpolitical brotherhood\u201d of co-administrations of the current system, any previous divergence falls to second place.<\/p>\n

Nature, with its earthquake has become the greatest political agent, without previous design and as an unexpected factor. It is the special politics of nature that are not found in political handbooks.<\/p>\n

So the premise that \u201cthe politics of nature is apolitical\u201d is not true.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This post received more assertive comments, like from Carlos Alberto who said: <\/p>\n

\n

Excelente columna. El gobierno debe seguir trabajando y acelerar sus decisiones y acciones. El futuro gobierno coordinarse y apoyar en v\u00edsperas de heredar el problema\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Excellent column. The government needs to keep working and speed up its decisions and actions. The future government has to coordinate on the eve of inheriting the problem.\n<\/div>\n
\"Damage<\/a><\/p>\n

Damage at Santiago's Airport. Photo uploaded by flickr user Jorge Barahona and used under a Creative Commons license.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Pedro Jesus Teruel [es]<\/a> wrote on his blog that he is hopeful that the new administration will implement the necessary measures to help Chile:<\/p>\n

\n

Tras las elecciones que han dado la victoria a Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era, en un contexto de alternancia caracterizado por una admirable normalidad democr\u00e1tica, la nueva orientaci\u00f3n pol\u00edtica aportar\u00e1 renovaciones estructurales ahora espoleadas por la urgencia. Ser\u00e1 el 11 de marzo cuando se inicie la nueva legislatura, marcada ya por el azote inesperado del temblor.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After the elections that have given the victory to Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era, in a context of alternating characterized by an admirable normality of democracy, the new political orientation will provide structural renovations that are now spurred because of urgency. It will be March 11 when the new legislature begins, marked by the results of the unexpected earthquake.\n<\/div>\n

Twitter users also commented on the politics related to the earthquake and the presidential transition. Some users like Elizabeth Tapia<\/a> (@feelemotion) from Santiago, Chile echoed the comments on Navia\u2019s blog post: <\/p>\n

\n

No falta la gente que todo lo toma como campa\u00f1a politica. En estos momentos Chile se debe unir, no pensar en partidos. Solo solidaridad.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There are always people that take everything as a political campaigning. At this time, Chile needs to unite, not think about political parties. Only solidarity.\n<\/div>\n

Others where more analytical about the situation, like Fernando Galaz<\/a> (@fernandogalaz) from Miami, Florida:<\/p>\n

\n

La llegada de Pi\u00f1era al gobierno ser\u00e1 como un partido de futbol que comienza perdiendo 5-0, se viene mucho trabajo\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The arrival of Pi\u00f1era to the government will be like a football team that begins the game losing 5-0, there is a lot of work ahead.\n<\/div>\n

Whether Bachelet or Pi\u00f1era are to gain any political advantage from this devastating event is yet to be seen; meanwhile because of the quick messages that can be sent through social media, we can expect plenty of political comments despite critics disputing their place in the conversation about Chile\u2019s recent tragedy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On March 11, Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era will be sworn in as the new President of Chile, replacing the current president Michelle Bachelet. The presidential transition will take place despite the earthquake, and political observers\u2014criticized by some who think this is not the time to analyze politics\u2014have begun searching for political implications to the disastrous events of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4355,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-377674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4355"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377674\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}