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News from Punta Arenas

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Punta Arenas in the red; Drinkers beware; Violence in Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas in the red

Punta Arenas mayor Raul Hein managed a controversial advance of four million US dollars from Santiago authorities to keep the capital investments program in the area running. The funds should help pay contractors and finish a new high school complex that was to be inaugurated last March and was rescheduled for September and now for next December. "We've managed an advance of funds from the Regional Development Office and this will help us honor all our commitments, and I can now say payments will be back to normal very shortly", said Punta Arenas Finance Secretary Ruben Toro, adding that "our Mayor was well received in Santiago and he was extremely successful in his visit". However José Barría, president of the local Council Finance Committee was not so enthusiastic. "The current insolvency situation is direct consequence of Mr. Hein's policy of awarding contracts and paying a year later, which has a terrible impact for small and medium companies that besides don't have ready access to credit", said Mr. Barría. Finance Secretary pointed out that the current deficit "was higher than normal" partly because of commitments from the previous year, which meant that by July "we had spent 89% of all our 2002 capital investments". Mr. Barría indicated that the 4 million US dollars are an advance of "future funds", and will have "to be returned in three, four installments in the next three years", and therefore "it's no generosity from the Santiago authorities". "This advance of future funds has enabled us to honor commitments and continue with contracts", insisted Mayor Hein. Mr. Barría warned that Punta Arenas Council will not approve any further capital investment contracts for 2003 "because we don't want small and medium contractors to be exposed to the same situation, and as far as we know the city will have less than a million US dollars for regional development projects next year". "Actually Mr. Hein was unable to convince Santiago officials to return the four million US dollars for Magallanes they pruned in 2001, and was only given an advance of future funds, simply postponing the insolvency problem the region faces", concluded Mr. Barría.

Drinkers beware

Punta Arenas authorities warned local residents that the ban on street alcohol drinking and severe fines for drunkenness became effective this week. Local police, Carabineros, are now authorized to detain heavy drinkers and jail them for a maximum of six hours before taking them before Court. According to national Bill 19,814, magistrates are entitled to apply a flat fine of 28,600 pesos equivalent to forty US dollars, and half the Chilean national minimum monthly salary. Fines can be changed for community activities in the local Council, public service or with any private non profit organization. Three times offenders in a twelve month period will have a full year of community activities plus a rehabilitation program in a health center monitored by the acting Court and Public Health authorities. When minors are involved, on the first drinking related offence he will be taken home and his parents severely warned. If the minor is caught again, his parents could loose temporary custody of the child, subject to a magistrate's decision.

Violence in Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas press and local citizens groups are pressing for more strict control of knives and related weapons following several killings and wounded by stabbing and attacks with blades. "The proliferation of people seriously wounded with knives particularly over weekends has been repeatedly warned by doctors working in emergency wards", wrote "La Prensa Austral" this week, adding that the city lives under a "climate of violence" spurred by the fact there are no controls on carrying knives or similar cutting weapons, and virtually no limits to alcohol consumption. Government "permissiveness" has weakened police powers, particularly when prevention is involved by eliminating the capacity to arrest "suspicious characters", complains the Punta Arenas morning newspaper. Carrying knives and blade weapons is strictly controlled in other countries, and offenders penalized with up to three years imprisonment, an initiative that was taken up by Congress in Santiago, and "we hope will proceed". "In our city attacks are concentrated in certain places known as risky or out of bounds for the common citizen, one is the area of Avenida España, between Errázuriz and Balmaceda, where residents are demanding a more preventive presence from the police, a petition that can't go unheard". "A more energetic and determined action is needed to control those characters that roam the streets of our city, armed, particularly at night", stresses the daily insisting that this situation must be tackled "with systematic checking and controls in the more conflicting areas".