Piñera’s Leadership Aims to Drive Chile’s Recovery
Morgan Lorraine Roach /
When Chilean President Sebástian Piñera was sworn into office last month, he did so with the walls around the National Congress rattling, as an aftershock of one of the five worst earthquakes in recorded history shook the building. Today, however, President Piñera is visiting Washington, DC, where he will attend the Nuclear Security Summit.
In a speech at the Brookings Institute, President Piñera’s message was clear: Chile’s plan for recovery is being put into action, but challenges remain. The Piñera administration is in a race to make up for the time lost to earthquake recovery to implement the goals of its campaign platform, primarily economic reform, poverty reduction and an increase in development.
February’s catastrophic 8.8 magnitude earthquake affected 2 million people, killing 342 and leaving 95 unaccounted for. With 370,000 homes damaged or destroyed and 200,000 needing to be entirely rebuilt, the weight of recovery is heavy. Mother Nature’s bill to the Chilean government is estimated at $30 billion – nearly 17 percent of the country’s GDP.