| Chile quake response stains Bachelet's legacy | Send to a friend |
| Tuesday, 09 March 2010 12:10 |
 Simon GardnerOutgoing President Michelle Bachelet was the most popular leader in Chile's recent history, but her government's slow response on providing aid and halting looting after a devastating earthquake has hurt her politically and could foil any comeback bid. The South American nation's first woman leader, a pediatrician-turned-politician, was riding a lofty 83-per cent approval rating in her last weeks in office when a devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck on February 27, triggering tsunamis and killing hundreds. But the government's handling of one of the most powerful quakes on record threatens to tarnish an otherwise successful presidency for Bachelet, a former defense minister whose term ends on March 11 when her center-right successor Sebastian Pinera is sworn in. It could also hurt chances that Bachelet or someone else from the center-left retakes the presidency in four years. "I am disappointed with the government and with Bachelet. The government reacted really badly," said Blanca Jara, 33, who works at a school for handicapped children in the quake-hit city of Concepcion. "We are decent people and had to go out with sticks and shotguns to protect our houses from looters," she added. "I hope the next government does a better job." A poll published in daily El Mercurio's Sunday edition showed 60 per cent of Chileans thought the government's aid response was slow and inefficient. Nearly 72 per cent failed the government on its moves to reestablish order. In the early hours after the quake, Bachelet and other officials initially misjudged the extent of damage and declined offers of international aid. That delayed the flow of assistance to disaster areas, leaving many survivors feeling they had been abandoned by the government. Worse yet, the navy's catastrophe-alert system failed to warn the population of the ensuing tsunami, leaving hundreds who survived the initial quake to be engulfed by massive waves that followed. A week later, the navy fired the head of the agency in charge of issuing tsunami warnings. The government's fumbling of the death toll also proved embarrassing for Bachelet. After the National Emergency Office announced the death toll had reached 802, the government later backed off that estimate, saying missing people who later turned up alive had mistakenly been included. That prompted a veiled swipe from Pinera, who pledged to completely revamp the state agency. A billionaire businessman, the silver-haired Pinera will end the left's 20-year grip on power in Chile when he takes office this week. "This isn't going to be good for Bachelet. She's going to pay a high political cost," said Patricio Navia, a political scientist at New York University and Santiago's Diego Portales University. "And even though her government was not ... bad, people are going to remember the last few days," he added. "She was herself flirting with the idea that perhaps she would come back in 2013. Now after this it's more difficult. Now everything will depend on how Pinera does." Analysts say the quake controversy will likely help Pinera because rivals in Congress will likely feel compelled to back legislation to help reconstruction. The disaster also gives him an alibi if he fails to live up to election pledges. Before the quake, Pinera had vowed to boost average economic growth to 6 per cent and create 1 million jobs. The quake is seen shaving from 1 to 2 per centage points off original forecasts for 2010 growth of around 5 per cent. Bachelet, 58, acknowledged that the rescue effort did not go as well as it should have. But she also strongly defended the government, saying it moved quickly to rectify mistakes. She made an emotional appeal to Chileans to join the relief effort, choking up in a live radio interview as she called on the population to band together and stop finger-pointing. She fought back tears again late on Saturday after a telethon by Latin American pop music stars including Shakira and Juanes raised 30 billion pesos ($59 million) in aid for quake survivors. "I feel enveloped by the sadness of what has happened. I feel as a country we are spectacular," Bachelet said after the fundraiser. "People can sometimes make mistakes, but the truth is that we (as a people) are there when it matters and that fills one with happiness." After a rocky start due to student protests at the beginning of her presidency, Bachelet won over people with a pragmatic, amiable style and steady economic growth in one of the region's most developed countries. Bachelet toured the earthquake zone to do what she does best -- connecting candidly with people and pledging to meet their needs as best she could without making false promises. But whatever she did seemed wrong. When looting broke out, she was lambasted both for being too quick and too slow to impose curfews and send in troops. Some Chileans, wary of the military after the brutal 1973-1990 dictatorship of the late Gen. Augusto Pinochet, felt she was too heavy-handed against the looters and should have focused more on providing aid. Some say the negative public reaction could help keep the right in power for two terms, although much would depend on Pinera's administration. ($1 = 509 pesos) Simon Gardner filed this analysis for Reuters from Santiago Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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