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Earthquake aftershock of magnitude 7.2: Not a dent to the democratic transfer of power in Chile
By Kaufmann | March 11, 2010 No Comments »
Not a minor tremor by any means, even if not the February 27th 8.8 mega-earthquake twelve days ago: 7.2* in the Richter scale is the magnitude of another earthquake aftershock that took place a few minutes ago in Chile, followed by a number of strong aftershocks to this March 11th aftershock. A tsunami alert has been issued, preventively…
All this takes place exactly as another peaceful and democratic transfer of power is about to take place. The epicenter is a mere 70 miles or so from the major coastal city of Valparaiso, the seat of Parliament, where the Presidents in Chile pass the baton. President Michelle Bachelet leaves with 84% popularity, and President Sebastian Piñera takes the oath of office, with high expectations and enormous reconstruction and social challenges ahead. He is the first democratically elected right-of-center President in the past 50 years in Chile.
Meanwhile, the peaceful proceedings of this transition in power continue apace, and exactly according to schedule, whether the earth is shaking or not. Visiting heads of state and dignitaries, many of whom are not used to earthquakes, appear to be much more rattled (and pale) than local citizens and officials.
Notable people and institutions.
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[*Postcript: Late in the day of Thursday, March 11th, the original magnitude of the large tremor that took place minutes before the transfer of power was revised downwards from 7.2 to 6.9. Either way, its strength rivaled the Haiti earthquake. It was followed by 3 large aftershocks shortly thereafter. Apparently one person died, of a heart attack. For a worldwide seismic monitor map, depicting a the strength of earhquakes, click here. For a photo gallery on the Chile earthquakes, here]
[In Spanish / En Castellano, traducido mecanicamente por computadora, aqui]
Topics: Rule of Law, Voice and Human Rights | | Read and Submit Comments