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SOUTH
AMERICA |
Chile's New President Seeks
Quick Recovery From Quake
SANTIAGO - After being sworn in as president
of Chile on Thursday, Sebastian Piñera
worked into night discussing measures with
cabinet members for recovery from the
8.8-magnitude quake that hit the South
American nation on Feb. 27.
The first Council of Ministers began late
Thursday night with the Emergency Committee,
governors, military chiefs giving detailed
reports on the situation of devastated
areas.
Chile's government spokeswoman Ena von Baer
said that Education Minister Joaquin Lavin
had been instructed to work for swift
reopening of schools.
The discussion of the key task force in
recovery efforts -- the Reconstruction
Committee -- began at 1:30 a.m. local time
(0430 GMT) on Friday.
The committee, comprising ministers of
interior, presidency, public works, housing,
transportation, education, health, treasury
and economy, is expected to launch an
all-round campaign to restore normality to
affected regions.
The hardest-hit regions by the earthquake
and the following tsunami accounted for 13
percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and
about 25 percent of the industrial
production of the country, according to the
Central Bank.
Economists have predicted a 4.5 percent
growth of GDP for 2010, 1.5 points lower
than the 6 percent average annual expansion
proposed by Piñera's economic program. |
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