Chile's president said his country will never be the same again after the extraordinary rescue of the 33 miners trapped deep underground for 69 days. Sebastian Piñera said he thought Chile was “more united and stronger than ever”, and “more valued” worldwide.
Chilean rescue teams hope to start evacuating next Tuesday the 33 miners who have been trapped 700 metres underground for two months in a survival story that has gripped the world.
The US dollar’s value against the Chilean peso experienced a sharp drop in the second semester of 2010. The exchange rate has been on a steady decline, devaluing by 63 pesos since July, until closing Wednesday at 482.7 pesos to the dollar – which was a daily drop of 0.4 pesos.
Chilean bottled wine exports soared 33.3% and 25.8% during August in volume and value helping to reach the 1.5 billion US dollars and 749 million litres in the last twelve months, with 18.9% and 11.2% increases in volume and value according to the latest release from Vinos de Chile.
Chilean Foreign Affairs minister Alfredo Moreno said Wednesday he would not make any further comments involving the serious controversy which erupted following Argentina’s decision to deny extradition of a Chilean guerrilla fighter charged with the killing of a Senator and kidnapping the son of a media owner in 1991 when democracy had been restored to Chile.
A leading Chilean Conservative Senator said on Tuesday it is going to be very difficult to have a confidence relation “with the Argentine government, the President and the Kirchner couple” and described Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman as someone who lacks “human and intellectual category”.
Chilean Argentine relations deteriorated seriously on Tuesday when the government of President Sebastian Piñera announced they were calling off a series of meetings at Foreign Affairs ministerial level following on Buenos Aires decision to grant political asylum to a former guerrilla fighter.
Senate passed new reforms to the controversial anti-terrorism law this week, but they were not enough to end the Mapuche hunger strike, which enters its 82nd day today Friday.
The Chilean government could see its copper-related income nearly double this year, according to Gustavo Lagos, of the Mining Centre at Universidad Catolica.
Chilean president Sebastian Piñera on Thursday reiterated that next year's budget would aim to ease a rapidly appreciating currency that is hurting the country’s exporters.