Former Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos leads the race to succeed President Alvaro Uribe in a May election after a court barred the president from seeking re-election, according to a public opinion poll released this week.
Venezuela's economy fell by 3.3% in 2009 after contracting 5.8% in the last quarter, informed the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) which blamed the global crisis and falling prices for oil the country’s main export.
Chile's president appealed on Tuesday for calm in the earthquake-ravaged city of Concepcion, vowing a stern response to any renewal of looting and violence. Michelle Bachelet said 14,000 troops are now in the region, after dozens of looters were arrested.
Almost 3.000 people remained stranded Monday in Magallanes region, extreme south Chile, since Saturday’ devastating quake forced the temporary closure of Santiago’s main air terminal, according to reports in Punta Arenas.
Chilean president Michelle Bachelet sent on Monday thousands of extra troops to the main quake disaster area in the city of Concepcion as angry and hungry residents set fire to department stores.
Beginning Tuesday Lan Airlines resumes flying a skeleton national and international schedule out of a tent at the Santiago airport, according to a short notice from the Chilean flag carrier company.
The main airport in Chile’s Capital of Santiago allowed on Sunday the first few aircraft to land since the 8.8 mega quake struck the country Saturday morning. No aircraft however have been permitted to take off.
A Lan flight from Lima was the first to land in early afternoon.
Chile's government conceded it made a mistake in initially playing down the risk of a tsunami from Saturday's massive earthquake. At a news conference in Santiago, Defence minister Francisco Vidal blamed the navy for what he called a diagnostic error.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced emergency measures to deal with the destruction caused by Saturday's massive earthquake. The 8.8 magnitude quake - one of the most powerful recorded - devastated central parts of the country, killing more than 710 people and leaving an estimated 2 million people out in the streets.
Copper is likely to climb when trading starts on Monday, lifted by uncertainty over supply after the world's top copper producer Chile suffered a massive earthquake, analysts said over the weekend.