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Former Chilean president Sebastián Piñera died in a helicopter crash on Tuesday evening as he was traveling to southern Chile with three members of his family, who survived. Piñera, 74, was the first and so far only center-right president of Chile since its return to democracy at the end of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, having served two presidential terms from 2010 to 2014 and 2018 to 2022. The former Chilean president was reportedly piloting the crashed helicopter, having taken off from the home of Chilean businessman José Cox on Tuesday afternoon after sharing a meal. Piñera was accompanied by...

Billionaire Chilean President Sebastian Pinera's right-wing government said Monday it has set itself a target of expelling 2,000 illegal migrants from the country by the end of the year. The measure is part of a migration plan that the world's largest copper producer introduced to cope with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants over the last four years. The expulsions will prioritize foreigners with criminal records, as well as those who did not take up a government offer to regularize their situation.

A conservative billionaire and former president, Sebastián Piñera, has won Chile's presidential election run-off. It is a marked move to the right for the country, which is currently led by socialist President Michelle Bachelet. She had backed Mr Guillier.

After meeting with President Obama regarding new agreements between the U.S. and Chile. President Piñera said "I'm going to sit at the desk of the President of the United States." He then walked right over and sat down. An inaudible comment was made to which Piñera replied, "Why not?" He then mentioned to the smiling Obama, "My daughter was born here," referring to a daughter who was born in the U.S. Obama replied, "Yes, you told me this. I am aware." Obama's people didn't seem sure what to make of the situation and tried to prevent photos from being taken,...

Economy: President Obama had nothing but praise for Chile's democracy and economic miracle, declaring it a model "for the region and world." So why is he obstructing the same reforms in the U.S. that gave Chile its success? Arriving Monday in Santiago on the second leg of his Latin American tour, the president told El Mercurio he picked Chile as one of his three stops because: "The Chilean experience, and more particularly its successful democratic transition and sustained economic growth, is a model for the region and the world. ... It is also a powerful example of how the opportunities...

Pensions: Nearly 30 years ago, on the very day Ronald Reagan was sworn in as U.S. president, Chile became the first nation to privatize its social security system. Three decades hence, it has surpassed all expectations. Decades ago, Chile's then-military dictatorship shuddered at a proposal from then-Labor Minister Jose Pinera to privatize Chile's liability-laden pension system. The military men argued that the public was too ignorant to manage its own affairs and only government's firm hand could be trusted to provide. Pinera explained that the pension liabilities the government then couldn't pay were not only perfectly payable, but could be...

Fate has provided an opportunity to compare President Obama's crisis management skills with those of another democratically elected president. Obama and Chilean President Sebastián Piñera each faced a major crisis recently, and their leadership styles have been put on public display for all to judge. Obama faced the unprecedented blowout of BP's deep-water Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico; Piñera faced the rescue of 33 miners trapped deep underground in a gold and copper mine. Ultimately, both situations were brought under control. The Macondo well stopped flowing after BP's "static kill" operation succeeded, and the Chilean miners were...

Joy Tiz ©2010 It was like the Chilean miners, but he, being the man he is, rolled up his sleeves and said ‘I am going to get us out of this hole. -Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) It’s good to see the future ex senator from Nevada relying on the winning strategy of lashing himself ever more firmly to Barack Obama. It’s foolish for a Democrat to invoke Obama’s name in any context that recalls the rescue of the Chilean miners. Republicans, however, should never miss an opportunity to make comparisons between the U.S. President and the pro capitalism Sebastian Piñera....

President Obama on Thursday called Chilean President Sebastian Piñera to congratulate him and his government on the rescue of 33 trapped miners after 69 days underground, the White House said in a statement. "The president hailed the rescue as a tribute not only to the determination of the rescue workers and the Chilean government, but also the miners and the Chilean people who have inspired the world. President Piñera conveyed his thanks to the president, the United States government, and the American companies and individuals who provided support for the rescue efforts," the statement said.

It's the feel-good story of the year! The Chile mine rescue transfixed, united, and gladdened the whole world that was watching. But leave it to the DUmmies of Democratic Underground to use the rescue operation as an occasion to blast two of their favorite EEEvils, namely, capitalism and religion. Now, to be fair, many of the DUmmies did cheer and rejoice--it was hard not to. But there were not a few Debbie Downers who couldn't help but interject their pet hates into the story. You can see that on their several "live threads"--I'll link just THREAD #3, but you...

    LAS VEGAS — It has been an interesting "homecoming" from our most recent Fox News "embed" with U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The flights we took, from Kabul to Dubai and onward to Dulles International Airport, were full of Americans — service members heading home on leave, a gaggle of U.S. government officials, more than a dozen civilian contractors, several private-sector engineers and technicians, and a group of executives seeking "investment opportunities" in Afghanistan. None of those with whom I spoke on these flights expressed any angst about "lack of progress" or "fear of failure" in...

What a man is this President Sebastian Pinera of Chile! He believes in God and is not afraid to say so. He doesn't care about being ridiculed by the American Civil Liberties Union or its Chilean equivalent: He orders church bells to be rung to celebrate the amazing, truly miraculous rescue of 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months in his country's San Jose mine. Pinera doesn't give endlessly long speeches that are packed with so many weightless, meaningless clichés that they rise out of sight and out of memory as soon as the worthless, empty words are...

Watching the Chilean mining rescue operation. Lots of praise for the Chilean president and the minister of mining. Too bad we have to go to Chile to see a real leader responding to a crisis. Pinero has been to the mine now 6 times and the mining minister has been there from day 1. The fact that Pinero is a self-made man with real executive experience explains a lot.

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera and the country's first lady have arrived at a remote mine hours ahead of an attempt to rescue the first of 33 miners trapped hundreds of metres below the surface. The president and his wife, Cecilia Morel, have been meeting families of the trapped miners, many of whom have held vigil at nearby "Camp Hope" since their loved ones were trapped by a collapse at the mine more than nine weeks ago. More than 600 metres underground, the 33 Chilean miners are preparing for the ride of their lives as rescuers prepare to bring them to...

Americans have been so bombarded with the word “crisis,” it appears to have lost all meaning. But distinguished scholar the Cato Institute, there is a real, serious crisis pending in America’s addiction to entitlement programs, government-dependence, and imaginary “rights” to live off future generations. “You will have to look into the future, do the responsible thing, and begin moving toward a system of personal accounts. That is the only long-term solution,” said Jose Pinera of America’s social security and pension system. Pinera knows what he’s talking about – he’s the architect of social security reform in Chile. Introducing a recent...

Americas: There's nothing like success to breed a taste for it. Chile's dramatic shift from left to right in Sunday's election is that of an already prospering country preparing to soar. Word of this will spread far in the region. Chile's story is an unusual one in Latin America. Ruled by a level-headed, center-left coalition called Concertacion since the end of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship in 1990, its leaders nevertheless pursued free-market policies. Instead of blaming the gringos and waging class warfare in Che T-shirts, they balanced their budget and respected private property. Instead of squandering a $19 billion state...

Sebastián Piñera, a billionaire businessman, has defeated Chile’s ruling leftist coalition to return the right to power for the first time since the return of democracy after General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in 1990.

SANTIAGO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera won Chile's presidential election on Sunday, ending two decades of center-left rule in Latin America's most stable economy and the world's top copper producer. Pinera won with almost 52 percent of the vote and his leftist rival, former President Eduardo Frei, quickly conceded defeat. The victory by Pinera, a Harvard-educated airline magnate, marks a shift to the right in South America, a region dominated by leftist rulers from Venezuela to Argentina, although no major changes to economic policy are expected.

"...Primer cómputo: Piñera supera a Frei y es virtualmente electo Presidente de ChileCon 3,75 puntos de diferencia sobre el candidato oficialista, el abanderado de la oposición está a un paso de convertirse en nuevo gobernante del país..."

A conservative billionaire who fell shy of a first-round presidential victory can win a January runoff if he peels enough voters away from the center-left coalition that has governed Chile for nearly two decades. Sebastian Pinera, the right's greatest hope of regaining the presidency since the 1990 departure of dictator Augusto Pinochet, won 44 percent of Sunday's vote, to 30 percent for former President Eduardo Frei, with 98 percent of the vote counted.