7 key steps in 100 days of President Piñera’s Administration

19 JUN 2018

On June 19th, Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile, reaches his first 100 days in office. Even though there is still a great challenge ahead, these are some of the measures in which progress has been made during this first stage.

94 proposals to achieve a National Agreement for Children

Protection of children is one of the main pillars of President Piñera's Administration. In fact, his first activity as soon as he took office on March 11 was to visit a center of the SENAME (National Child House). 

At the beginning of April, the President established a group work formed by different political forces which already gave him 94 proposals to promote the integral development of all children and their capacities. The initiatives include a new institutional framework for children, a new adoption law, improving care, as well as initiatives in health and education. 

In addition, in the first 100 days of the Administration, the Deputy Secretary for Children was set up, a project was introduced to establish the imprescriptibility of sexual crimes against boys, girls and adolescents, and an increase in subsidies was promoted to collaborating institutions.

"Thanks to the proposal we have received from this working group, we can begin a new phase in favor of an agenda for our children, for our childhood, to give back what society has taken from them: the right to a childhood, to the innocence, love, a family and a fuller and happier life”, the President said.

A push to promote investment in Chile 

On May 14th, President Piñera signed a decree that established the Office of Management of Sustainable Projects and the bill for "Pro-Investment Agenda", two measures that look for to expedite the processes to motorize the activity of companies in the country. The measures aim at unlocking projects for US$ 65 billion, which could create 250.000 jobs.

The Office of Management of Sustainable Projects (GPS in Spanish) aims to coordinate and expedite the process of authorization of large investment projects in the country, whether public or private. To do this, it will generate all the coordination with the different public services in charge of issuing licenses and authorizations to ensure that the deadlines established by the regulation are kept and the licensing and permitting processes are transparent.

To this is added the Pro-Investment Agenda, which will look for promoting an atmosphere and a favorable legal scenario for investment in our country, eliminating imperfections or regulatory obstacles and injecting efficiency and modernization to the State.

“To make Chile, before the end of the next decade, which is already knocking on our doors, a developed country and without poverty, it is a big, noble and demanding mission”, the President said.

Gender Equality Agenda

President Piñera announced on May 23rd a set of initiatives to promote gender equality in both the public and private sectors. The Government proposed 12 measures, including a constitutional reform to establish as a duty of the State to promote and guarantee full equality of rights between men and women; the enactment of Law of State Universities, which regulates the relationship between teachers and students; the reform of the private health system to finish unjustified price differences in health plans and the facilitation of the collection of alimony, among other measures.

"We know that to walk this road towards that culture of equality between men and women and zero tolerance against violence and abuse, will be a difficult challenge, which will take time, have to face many difficulties and undoubtedly require the iron will and commitment, not only of the Government, not only of the Parliament, but of each and every one of the Chileans of good will", the President claimed.

A new Solidarity Financing System for Higher Education

On June 7th, President Piñera introduced the bill that creates the Solidarity Financing System for Higher Education, replacing the controversial Credit with State Guarantee (CAE in Spanish).

The main differences of the Government's proposal with the previous system, is that the bank does not participate in this new financing system, but it will be managed by the State. On the other hand, students who belong to 60% of the most vulnerable families in the country will pay absolutely nothing while they are studying and, consequently, higher education institutions that access this new system should cover any difference. The maximum payment that each student will make -which will begin once they have graduated and have an income- will be 10% of their income. Finally, after 15 years of payment, any debt that remains is going to be extinguished, whatever the amount.

The announcement is in line with the Government's priorities in education: improving the quality in the different segments and stages of the educational system, improving the quality of technical-professional education and making a dramatic change in the training system.

Regarding to this, President Piñera claimed that "a quality education is the most powerful instrument for the development of people, for the development of the country, to defeat poverty, to achieve greater equality of opportunities and to build that society with integral, inclusive and sustainable development”.

Regularization of the Migratory Situation

On April 23rd, Sebastián Piñera’s Administration began a process of migratory regularization after the strong increase in the flow of foreigners in the country, which now exceeds 1.1 million people, or 6.1% of the total population. The plan includes the regularization of foreigners who are irregularly in the country, and that would amount to 300,000, as well as establishing new visas to study and work.

For this purpose, more than 100 information desks were set up to carry out the procedures throughout the country.

One of the aims of Executive is to modernize immigration regulations to ensure the quality of life of all people living in the country. 

During the first 45 days of the implementation, more than 137,000 foreigners registered, which was described as a success according to the objectives set. 

"We want the migration to our country to be a good migration, orderly, regulated and safe, that allows us to improve the quality of life, both of those who come to Chile to look for a new life, as well as Chileans", the President said. 

Chile becomes the first country in Latin America to ban plastic bags in businesses

On May 29th, Chilean parliamentarians unanimously approved the first Bill passed during the President Sebastián Piñera’s Administration, which ban the delivery of plastic bags in the country's businesses. Thus, Chile became the first country in the region to promote this type of measure.

The bill establishes a period of adaptation of six months for large retailers to stop delivering plastic bags and a period of two years for smaller companies, such as Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, local shops and/or street markets. 

In the lapse between the enactment of the law and its entry into force, businesses may deliver a maximum of two plastic bags to customers for each purchase they make.

"Chile is showing a sign of being a mature, responsible country, committed to the environment," he said. 

Security as a Government Priority

Crime is one of the issues that currently concerns Chilean citizens the most. That is why citizen security is one of the five Great Agreements that the Government has promoted to foster ideas to fight against crime throughout Chile.

So far, several measures have been taken to advance in this area, such as the signing of a bill that look for to punish more forcefully the "portonazos", violent criminal acts that occur when criminal tries to steal his vehicle to a citizen, with high levels of violence.

The Government has also made progress in other citizen security initiatives, such as the operational and administrative modernization of Police Forces and the implementation of a new Police Operation Tactical System (STOP in Spanish), a mechanism for crime prevention that allows for more efficient police action. This thanks to the analysis of criminal information, driven mainly by reports made by citizens, who can see the areas of greatest risk.

Four national preventive operations have also been carried out, in which more than 16,000 people who committed crimes or had pending arrest warrants were arrested.
 
The President himself participated in the last of these, in the commune of La Pintana, in a mega operation with more than 10,800 Carabineros deployed throughout the country.

"I want to make a commitment, as President of all Chileans, that during our Government, crime will recede and the peace, security and tranquility of our families will advance" the President said, on June 11th.
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