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Sarmiento Lake, Paine. (visitchile.org )
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N° 2, July 2005
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POLITICS
Three Main
Candidates in December
Chilean Presidential Election
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Michelle Bachelet
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Michelle Bachelet (born 1951)
A socialist politician representing the Concertación, the
coalition of center-left parties that has governed Chile since its return to
democracy in 1990.
Bachelet is a surgeon, pediatrician and epidemiologist educated at the University of Chile. She is also the daughter of
former Air Force General Alberto Bachelet, who died after torture by agents
of the military regime of Augusto Pinochet in 1974.
She was exiled in 1974 and moved first to Australia and then settled in East Germany
until 1979.
Between 1994 and 1997 Bachelet worked in the Chilean Ministry of Health. In
1996, she became interested in defense topics, studying initially in Chile and
later at the InterAmerican
Defense College
in Washington.
On her return to Chile,
she served as an advisor for the Defense Ministry.
Bachelet was appointed Minister of Health by President Ricardo Lagos in 2000
and Defense Minister in 2002, becoming the first woman ever to hold this post
in Chile.
She resigned in late 2004 to begin her campaign for the presidency.
Michelle Bachelet is currently the most popular candidate. The most recent
polls show that around 45% of Chileans would vote her.
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Joaquín Lavín
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Joaquín Lavín (born 1953)
A former mayor of Santiago
and one of the presidential candidates of the right-of-center Alliance for Chile, made
up of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) and the National Renewal (RN)
parties. He was also the Alliance’s
candidate in 2000, when lost narrowly to Ricardo Lagos in a runoff election.
Lavín is a member of UDI and became a national political leader while serving
as mayor of Las Condes (1992-1999) and Santiago
(2000-2004), two important municipalities in the Metropolitan Region. He
holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from Chile's Catholic University,
as well as an MA in Economics from The University of Chicago. Lavín was the
creator and first editor of the economics and business section of El Mercurio, Chile’s oldest newspaper and is a
professor of economics at the Universidad del Desarrollo.
Joaquín Lavín is known for his direct and populist style, reflected in his
slogans “¡Con Lavín, te toca a ti!” (With Lavín, it's your turn!), “¡Viva el
cambio!” (Long live change!), and “¡Hay que escuchar a la gente!” (We must
listen to the people!). He has promised that, if elected, he will give
priority to measures to reduce unemployment, poverty, and crime.
He is also a member of the Opus Dei, a conservative catholic organization.
According to the most recent polls, Joaquín Lavín currently is running second
place in the presidential race, having more than 20% support.
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Sebastián Piñera
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Sebastián Piñera (born 1949)
A successful businessman and former Senator for Santiago, Piñera is the
presidential candidate of the center- right National Renewal (RN) party, a
member of the Alliance
for Chile
coalition.
He has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Chile's Catholic University,
as well as a Masters and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University.
Piñera is the main shareholder of Lan Chile Airlines, a member of the board
of several major Chilean companies, has large real estate investments, and
recently acquired Chilevisión, a Chilean television channel.
A leader of the liberal wing of his party, Sebastián Piñera voted against the
continuation of general Pinochet´s rule in the 1988 plebiscite.
He is the most recent candidate to enter the race, and polls currently show
that approximately 18% of the electorate support his candidacy.
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Donald H. Rumsfeld and Jaime Ravinet
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BILATERAL RELATIONS
Defense Ministers of the U.S. and Chile
Meet at the Pentagon
On June 30, Chilean Minister of Defense Jaime Ravinet met with
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.
For more than 45 minutes, both ministers analyzed the
weakening of democracy in some nations in the hemisphere and especially the
delicate situation in Haití. Rumsfeld expressed his appreciation for the
presence of Chilean troops in Haití and praised their efficiency in
controlling the outbreaks of violence in Cap Haitien. Secretary Rumsfeld and
Minister Ravinet agreed that the situation in the Caribbean
country is very sensitive because both the lack of security and the delay in
the preparations for the elections to be held at the end of 2005. They also
agreed on the negative effects steming from the insufficient flow of
international aid for the country’s reconstruction.
The Chilean minister said that Secretary Rumsfeld praised Chile’s
stability and the efficiency of its Armed Forces. They also discussed various
bilateral issues, such as joint exercises and military operations, methods of
military instruction, and exchange of armed forces personnel.
A significant result of the meeting was the decision to resume
in November of this year the bilateral political-military meetings, last held
in 2001 in Santiago.
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Did you know that almost half Santiago's households
have a personal computer? (44%)
(Source:
Estudio de Cima Group)
Today, Chile ranks 17 among foreign
investment recipients in the world.
(Source: Organization for
Cooperation and Economic Development (OCDE))
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ECONOMY
Spectacular initial effects of
the Chile-US FTA
The results of the Chile-United States FTA have so far
exceeded the most optimistic expectations which existed at its inception. In
2004 – the first year the agreement was effective – two-way merchandise trade
increased by a stunning 33%, with Chilean exports to the United States
rising 32% and American exports to Chile growing nearly 35%.
Bilateral trade expanded even faster (46%) in January-May of
2005 compared with the same period of 2004. During that period American
exports to Chile
soared by 66% while Chilean exports to the United States rose again by 32%.
Although it is unlikely that such extremely high rates will be
maintained during the rest of the year, the growth that has already taken
place suggests that bilateral trade could be 70% larger in 2005 than in 2003.
Indeed, in 2005 US exports to Chile
may nearly double those recorded in 2003.
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The Heights of Macchu Picchu
Alturas de Macchu Picchu
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MUSIC
Los Jaivas on a Free Mega-Concert at the Kennedy Center
LOS JAIVAS, one of the most popular Chilean bands,
hugely known in Europe and Latin
America, will offer a free outdoor concert presented by the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
The performance will be held at 6:00
pm on Wednesday,
September 7, 2005, at the Kennedy Center's
South Plaza Stage.
Songs from the albums
Heights of Machu
Picchu and Greatest Hits are among those to
be performed in the multi-media, two-hour show.
The group, whose music has been described by some as “Andean
Rock”, has been around since the early 60's, and became internationally
recognized with their acclaimed album Alturas
de Machu Picchu. Its lyrics are taken from the poems of
Chilean Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda and is considered one of the highlight
albums in Chilean history.
The music of Los
Jaivas is a unique and brilliant blend of Andean folk and
progressive rock, whose rhythmic sensations are created by combining
indigenous instruments --such as the kultrún, trutruca, charango, zampoña and
quena-- with modern synthesizers, piano, keyboards, drums, guitars and
electric bass. Though Los Jaivas ripened as a band in the 70's in France, they
embrace a musical style that “seeks the union of mankind”, especially between
South and Central America.
Following the Kennedy Center concert, Los Jaivas will also perform in
New York (September 10), Chicago (September 13) and Miami (September 18), and
shows in Boston, Toronto and Montreal are in the works. Exact dates and
venues will be announced in due time.
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DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams and
Ambassador Andrés Bianchi.
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GASTRONOMY
The 2005 Restaurant Association of Metropolitan
Washington
Gala
Chile was one of the
sponsors of the 2005 Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington Gala,
which gathered more than 1500 guests to celebrate the restaurant industry of
metropolitan Washington.
The 32nd version of the RAMMYS was held on June 5, 2005, at the Washington Convention Center, where restaurant
owners, chefs and sommeliers mingled with political figures such as Mayor
Anthony Williams and members of the City Council.
All the wines served during the dinner were Chilean. And they
were great!! Three different wines were showcased: Cavas Submarinas, Muscat
Chardonnay 2004, from Casanueva winery; Montes Alpha Syrah 2003, from Montes
winery; and Late Harvest 2001, from Santa Alicia winery.
With total exports of US$ 152 million, Chile was the
fifth largest supplier of wine to the U.S. in 2004, behind France, Italy, Australia and
Spain.
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Notice
Due to changes in
the passport processing system, Chileans wishing to renew their passports in
the Consulates of Chile
in the U.S should request an appointment with a Consulate officer. They
should also take into account that the delivery of the document will take approximately
3 weeks.
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SCHEDULE
JULY, 2005
ü July 11th: The Chairmanship
of the Convening Group of the Community of Democracies will be transferred
from Ambassador Carlos Portales, Director General of Foreign Policy of the
Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to H.E. Abdoulaye Diop, Ambassador of
Mali to the United States
at 2:00 at the Embassy of
Chile. Closed to the public.
ü July 12th: The Americas
Program of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) will
organize a round-table discussion entitled: “The Community of Democracies: Past accomplishments, future challenges”.
From 10:00 to 11:30 am in the B1-B Conference Center at CSIS (1800 K St. NW). If you wish to attend
this event, please send an e mail to vvanni@csis.org.
For any additional questions about the event, please contact Viviane
Leffingwell at (202) 775-3211.
ü July 12th: Chilean General
Juan Carlos Salgado, Chief of the Chilean Army Mission to the United States,
will give a lecture entitled “The
Chilean Military Presence in Haiti: Current Role of the United Nations
Mission and Possible Future Scenarios.” At 6 pm. Room CR-201 in
the new Cultural
Center of the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). 1330 New York Ave., N.W., 2nd floor.
For security reasons and to facilitate your access to the IDB, please inform plazachile@gmail.com if you will
attend.
ü July 25th: Seminar “Chile’s Road to Development. 1990-2005: Lessons Learned”.
>From 9:00 am to 3:45 pm
in the B1-B conference area. Center for Strategic and International Studies. 1800 K Street. If
you wish to attend, please send an e mail to vvanni@csis.org and confirm your
attendance no later than July 21. For any additional questions about the
event, please contact Viviane Leffingwell at (202) 775-3211.
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