08/16/2020 - 18:25
- Clarín.com
- World
The government of Chilean President Sebastián Piñera decided to bet hard to give oxygen to the economy of his country, severely hit by the coronavirus, and at the same time contain the growing demands for social inclusion of broad layers of the trans-Andean population. In this context, the head of state yesterday detailed to the press a huge public investment plan that will consume about US $ 34,000 million between 2020 and 2022 and that, according to him, could generate about 250,000 jobs in the country.
According to the Santiago press reported yesterday, in a visit to the Vespucio Oriente highway, the president said that this initiative consists of four axes: investment, employment, support for SMEs and modernization of the State. Piñera said that what is being sought with this plan is to recover the 1.8 million jobs lost in the framework of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus.
"It is to recover the more than 700 thousand workers who are currently suspended from employment," said the president. This is the "Plan Step by Step Chile Recovers" announced two weeks ago by the government, when popular pressure was increasing in demand for changes, and which this Sunday was detailed by the president.
Economic downturn
According to what was reported by the newspaper La Tercera, in terms of public infrastructure, the Government said it will execute a portfolio of projects with special emphasis on construction, improvement and expansion of roads, bridges, hydraulic works, rural drinking water systems, coastal borders. , coves, airports and public buildings. The program also includes employment subsidies, aid to SMEs and tax incentives.
The Covid-19 pandemic had profound economic and social consequences in Chile, by virtue of which Piñera stressed the need for a millionaire plan to overcome the “extraordinarily difficult times” that the country is experiencing.
Between the social outbreak and the pandemic, which so far left more than 360,000 infections and almost 10,000 deaths , Piñera said that the last nine months have been "very difficult and demanding for everyone," while calling for unity and dialogue from the opposition to "Build agreements" because "a divided country cannot advance."
Chile projects a 7.5 percent drop in the economy this year , according to the Central Bank. And although the government highlights its figures compared to those of other world economies, the coronavirus pandemic is expected to have an unprecedented impact in recent decades and an eight-year setback for the South American country.
In 2020, unemployment rose in June to 12.2 percent and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimates that poverty could rise 13.7 percent this year.
Protests in Santiago (Chile) for lack of food last May. Photo EFE
The government detailed that the employment subsidy program may benefit up to 1 million people and will cost close to $ 2 billion, while public investment in the 2020-2022 period will reach $ 34 billion, of which 4,500 million dollars correspond to additional investment, with a capacity to generate 250,000 new jobs with works in “physical, social and digital infrastructure”.
The new economic stimulus program of Palacio La Moneda comes weeks after Congress approved a law so that citizens can withdraw 10% of their pension savings from the private system as aid against the pandemic, a measure to which the Government opposed.
Regarding pensions, the Chilean president reiterated his commitment to make a structural reform to the current model, based on individual capitalization, and move towards a mixed system that introduces State contributions.
The massive demonstrations that began in 2019 to demand a more equitable socioeconomic system caused several dozen deaths and thousands of injuries, between episodes of street violence and alleged human rights violations by State agents.
Source: AFP, Xinhua and Clarín
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