Andres Oppenheimer
And judging from what Chilean President
According to the newly released figures of
"We are happy, but not satisfied," Pinera said. "We have recovered our country's poverty reduction capacity after poverty had been increasing during the last three years of the previous government. That's good news."
Countering opposition critics who minimized the latest poverty figures, arguing that the census methodology should be updated, Pinera said that the new data are significant precisely because CASEN has been using the same methodology over the past 22 years.
"What's most significant are the new figures on extreme poverty," Pinera said. "The 2.8 percent of the population figure is the lowest in the history of this indicator." He said the main reason for the poverty reduction was the creation of 700,000 new jobs, and a three-tier government poverty reduction program known as "Ethical Family Income."
Under the program, poor families get a sum of cash if they are below the poverty line, an additional sum if they carry out certain duties such as sending their children to school and meeting vaccination schedules, and a third sum if they can show certain "achievements," such as if their children get better grades in school.
Asked about another opposition criticism, that poverty should have fallen more considering
He added, "Look, the world is in crisis:
Is Pinera exaggerating
Former Chilean President
Lagos added: "We can't say that we've found a panacea. Our per capita income is much higher than in 2006, and yet we have a bigger percentage of poor than in 2006. We must have done something wrong between 2006 and now."
My opinion: Looked at from afar, and especially compared with its neighbors,
Granted, Pinera may be taking too much credit for
But looking at the big picture, and setting aside
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