Exposing fault lines Rocío Alorda 3/7/2010 Earthquake reveals unpreparedness, irresponsibility and chaos beneath Chile´s façade of development.

The devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile before dawn on Feb. 27, has exposed sub-par preparedness and regulations that could have minimized the damage in one of the region´s most seismically-active countries.

In less than three minutes, much of infrastructure and housing that Chile build over the past three decades, a reflection of its celebrated development, was destroyed. The earthquake, aftershocks and tsunami swept away seaside communities, knocked down buildings – some as new as one-year-old – and destroyed roadways and bridges.

Concepción, Chile´s second most-populous city that was 90 kilometers from the epicenter, was one of the worst affected.

While the confirmed death toll is not as high as the government originally stated – 279 as of March 4, instead of close to 800 – the government´s poor response to the massive earthquake proved tragic.

The Chilean navy had ruled out a tsunami, and advised authorities on the issue. But minutes after the quake struck, an 8-meter wave ravaged the coastal towns of Constitución and Dichato. Adm. Edmundo González, head of the navy, took responsibility for not warning the seaside towns of Maule and Bío-Bío about the wave.

“We weren´t very clear in the tsunami alerty and we share responsibility for many deaths,” González told Radio Cooperativa.

President Michelle Bachelet, who leaves office on March 11, was harshly criticized for not receiving international aid right away, and instead accessing the damage.

Inequality revealed
Poverty affect close to 14 percent of Chile´s 17 million people, but the area where the quake hit, the level was more than 20 percent, with the rate reaching 35 percent in some of the poorest communities, according to the 2006 Socioeconomic Characterization Survey.

The government´s response of sending in the military to keep order, following looting – which included not just food and water and other basic goods, but televisions and appliances – drew criticism from some who argued they were there to protect private property, not protect people.

Some witnesses around Concepción, said they had blocked off their streets with cars and they were keeping a round-the-clock watch to protect themselves from looters.

The destruction of buildings that completely pancaked or were partially damaged and are no longer inhabitable, exposed lax enforcement building standards during Chile´s economic boom that were not as rigid as they should have been.

Buildings constructed less than five years ago were presented some of the worst damage, revealing lax enforcement of building standards.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, or ECLAC, said that Chile can still overcome the global economic crisis, which affected goverment income in the world´s No. 1 copper producer when prices plummeted during the crash in 2008. ECLAC said it is putting together a team to access the economic damage on Chile.

President-elect Sebastián Piñera, said that the earthquake will impact employment.

“This earthquake, in addition to having destroyed infrastructure, could have a very severe impact on employment levels,” he told reporters. His said he is developing a plan, called “Levantemos Chile,” or “Let´s Rise, Chile” for economic recovery including reconstruction of schools, health centers and telecommunication infrastructure.

Fraying social fabric
Alicia Muñoz, president of the National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women, said that when her team arrived in the town of Cobquecura, in the Maule region, “we realized that teams are not organized, neither from the municipality, or social organization.”

“No one knew how to distribute the food, let alone coordinate with the people,” she said.

This was the case around southern Chile, where social organizations deteriorated during the 1973-90 dictatorship and for paternalist social policies. But some student organizations had a quick response, such as those in the University of Chile, where hundreds of young volunteers rapidly set up a food and clothing drive for victims in the south.

“We´re aware of the cruel reality that our country is facing now,” said a statement of the University of Chile´s Student Federation. “So we are going to add our energy and abilities to what´s being done to overcome this serious crisis that is causing thousands of compatriots so much pain and suffering.”

Some other rural, indigenous and women´s organizations have also joined in.

“We´ve started this campaign where we want to generate solidarity that demands social organization and that is focused on the participatory and inclusive reconstruction,” said Francisca Rodríguez, director of the National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women and the Latin American Coordinating Group of Organizations of Campo-Vía Campesina.

On March 8, the International Women´s Day, several organizations are running a drive to bring help to women. —Latinamerica Press.