Pinera inaugurated as Chilean president to succeed Bachelet

Valparaiso, Chile - Conservative businessman Sebastian Pinera was inaugurated Thursday as Chilean president, to succeed Michelle Bachelet. The brief, austere ceremony was held at the Chilean Congress building in the port of Valparaiso north-west of capital Santiago. The inauguration ceremony was preceded by three strong quakes, which are among hundreds to have shaken Chile in recent weeks.

Several Latin American presidents, including Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina, Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Jose Mujica of Uruguay, Alan Garcia of Peru and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay were in attendance.

Pinera, 60, asked his cabinet to focus on reconstruction efforts in the wake of the quake and tsunami which devastated the country February 27 and claimed hundreds of lives. He is one of the richest men in Chile and is worth 2.2 billion dollars according to Forbes magazine.

Incoming Finance Minister Felipe Larrain on Thursday estimated that the disaster is to cost Chile 20-30 billion dollars.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313635,pinera-inaugurated-as-chilean-president-to-succeed-bachelet.html.