SANTIAGO, Chile — Outgoing President Michelle Bachelet said Thursday that she's leaving Chile in good shape for President-elect Sebastian Pinera, having already resolved a number of the most urgent issues in the wake of a devastating earthquake.
"Long live Chile!" Bachelet said, leading a cheer in her long goodbye from La Moneda, where she marched with the palace guards and then lingered with a passionate crowd in the plaza outside. Supporters waved socialist party flags and pressed forward to shake her hand, give her flowers and even caress her face.
Bachelet said she's "proud of what we have accomplished" and convinced that the country will rise from the devastation wrought by last month's 8.8-magnitude earthquake, which killed an estimated 500 people and caused billions of dollars in damages.
"We are handing over to the new government a country that is politically and socially stable, respected internationally and with authorities who have high credibility," Bachelet added in her farewell address Wednesday night.
Pinera, a billionaire investor and Chile's first elected right-wing president in 52 years, was going right to work.
Plans for pomp and circumstance at his inauguration were set aside. Instead, Pinera will have a brief lunch with foreign dignitaries after the ceremony in Chile's legislature in Valparaiso, and then fly to coastal Constitution, where the tsunami killed many and destroyed the scenic downtown.
After meeting with survivors, he planned to fly back to the capital, address citizens from a balcony of the presidential palace and then hold a late-night strategy session with his Cabinet, dominated by business executives and technocrats.
Pinera had vowed on election night to make Chile "the best country in the world," spending billions to accelerate economic growth, create a million jobs in four years and combat crime, among other things.
Now, reconstruction is his top priority.
The disaster killed 500 identified victims and possibly hundreds of others, destroyed or heavily damaged at least 500,000 homes and broke apart highways and hospitals. Repairing infrastructure alone will cost $5 billion, and overall recovery costs could soar above $15 billion.
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