The most important Chilean news of the day, in summary.
A frontal weather system dominated the news in Chile, with school closures in the Valparaíso region, evacuations in several areas and a red alert in Arauco. Fuel prices were also in focus, as the finance minister announced increases for this week. In politics, a Senate committee presidency was decided by a split vote, and a poll ranked President José Antonio Kast among Latin American leaders. Regulators, education policy and technology investment also featured.
Gasoline would rise about $40 per litre and diesel about $90 from Thursday, October 22, according to Emol. Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz said the government is making a "very big effort" to keep the increases as gradual as public finances allow. He said this holding back of prices has a cost.
The Ministerio de Educación (Mineduc), the education ministry, suspended classes in 16 communes of the Valparaíso region, including Los Andes, Quillota and Quilpué. The measure covers public and private schools ahead of a forecast intense frontal system, according to BioBioChile.
Senator Vlado Mirosevic of the Partido Liberal took the presidency of the Senate's Constitution committee on Wednesday. Opposition senators backed him, while Arturo Squella and Andrés Longton voted against. Longton said an agreement signed in March was broken and that the governing bloc will review the Senate board and committees.
President José Antonio Kast ranks 12th of 18 leaders in the October positive-image ranking by CB Global Data, one place lower than September. T13 reported 41.6% positive image. CNN Chile reported 38.8% approval, down 4.1 points from 42.9%, and disapproval up from 52.5% to 56.8%. Claudia Sheinbaum and Nayib Bukele lead the table.
The Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF), the financial regulator, fined businessman Michael Clark Varela 20,000 UF, about $823 million, according to La Tercera. It says he took indirect control of Azul Azul S.A., the operator of Universidad de Chile's football club, without making an OPA, a public offer to all shareholders.
Metro de Santiago suspended service on part of Line 1 on Tuesday morning because of a medical emergency, according to T13. Santa Lucía and U. Católica stations were closed. Trains ran in two sections, and Metro said normal service could take more than an hour to return.
Priscila Ramírez, manager at Randstad Chile, a human resources firm, gave seven recommendations for improving a CV, according to Emol. Her central advice is to select the information that adds value rather than include everything. She named overloading the CV with data as the most common applicant mistake.
The Senate Education committee approved in general, by three votes to one, the government bill changing the Sistema de Admisión Escolar (SAE), the school admission system. Senator Yasna Provoste voted against and clashed with Education Minister María Paz Arzola. The bill passed the Cámara de Diputados earlier and is in its second constitutional stage.
The Mineduc said classes resume on Wednesday, October 21, in the Metropolitana, Antofagasta, Coquimbo and O'Higgins regions. Sources differ on whether Valparaíso, where 16 communes suspended classes, is included. T13 first reported five regions, then said no return had been announced there.
Interior and Segegob biminister Claudio Alvarado called the damage "minor" but said "the emergency continues". The Servicio Nacional de Prevención y Respuesta ante Desastres (Senapred), the disaster agency, counts 111 people affected and ordered evacuations in Lo Barnechea, Puente Alto and Talagante. Classes resume Wednesday.
Authorities ordered 152 families evacuated from Villa El Mirador, in Arauco in the Biobío region, after a new sinkhole appeared. Senapred declared a Red Alert for the whole commune over the risk of landslides, and a shelter was opened for residents, according to BioBioChile.
Science Minister Ximena Lincolao said the government is close to an agreement with OpenAI, according to Diario Financiero. She gave no details. She confirmed Amazon Web Services will open a data centre in Chile in November and will meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on November 11.
