A woman will soon no longer govern Chile. To some degree, this is just trivia. (“Who’s the new president of Chile?…Who cares?”) BUT – to be citizens of the world, a wise steward of our money, and to really honor the entirety of that big brains we’ve cultivated over the years — it’d behoove us to keep up with what’s going on outside the U.S. — and outside the infotainment lineup on MSM television. So! Behold this quick summary:
Who: Sebastián Piñera
What: New President of Chile. PhD in Economics from Hah-vahd. Vower of job creation. Oh, and thanks to his tycoon-ness as a LAN Chile magnate and other ventures, billionaire.
When: Elected Sunday, will start serving his four-year term in March
Where: CHEE-lay, as the kids call it — that long string bean of a country that hugs much of the Western edge of South America. It encompasses both the driest desert on Earth (in the North) and the Western Hemisphere’s closest reach to Antarctica (in the South).
Why: For one thing, the hugely popular Michelle Bachelet (approved of by more than two-thirds of her countrymen, according to some polls) could not run for a second consecutive term. That is the law in Chile.
Cocktail party morsel: Although Bachelet is, again, quite popular, Piñera is from the right-wing coalition. This is a big deal, because conservatives haven’t held the power since dictator General Augusto Pinochet was ousted in 1990.
Why this affects you: in three words — pretty pretty money.
Beautiful, unspoiled Chilean Patagonia. (We'll be doing a travel special on Chile and Patagonia soon.)
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