BRASIL: President Lula Tells Voters: "Trust Me"- Support My Protegee.

NYTIMES/ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO/
   "What does it take for a Latin American leader, even one as beloved as Mr. da Silva, to pass on popularity (to his politically untested, handpicked protegee Dilma Rousseff)? The answer, as the recent elections in Colombia and Uruguay have shown, often depends on a unifying issue like security or the economy that voters resist entrusting to opposition candidates. Popularity alone may not be enough. In Chile, the sweeping support for Michelle Bachelet did not extend to her coalition’s choice to succeed her. He lost the race even before the earthquake struck in February, stirring discontent. But in Brazil, Mr. da Silva seems to be betting that his almost cultlike following can make Ms. Rousseff win." In recent polls, Rousseff has pulled even at times for the October election but officials have also fined Lula four times for early campaigning.

CHILE: Widespread Looting Hurts Nation's Pride And Image.

AP/MIAMI HERALD/   President Michelle Bachelet is being criticized for her slow response to earthquake damage, especially in calling out the military as widespread looting broke-out. "They used to call us (Chileans) the jaguars of South America," slang for proud and strong. "But now we know that we're not even close to that," said one observor. A student in Concepcion said she felt"rage, impotence and disillusion" with the lawlessness. "I'm shocked. Not only criminals but well-off people are stealing." Bachelet is appealing for calm and reports that 14,000 troops are now in the region after dozens of looters were arrested.  Curfews are imposed in four major urban areas, including an 18-hour curfew in Concepcion. "The thugs have taken over the city. Now we are not afraid of the earthquakes, we're afraid of the criminals,"said one politician.

CHILE: Massive 8.8 Earthquake Strikes In Early AM; Hundreds Dead.

BLOOMBERG/   President Michelle Bachelet has declared a "state of catastrophe" and appealed for calm after an earthquake struck at 0634 GMT, 70 miles NE of Concepcion and 200 miles SW of Santiago. It is the biggest quake to hit Chile in 50 years and one of the biggest temblors anywhere in more than 100 years. It unleashed a tsunami that roared across the Pacific at 550 miles per hour -- the speed of a jet plane. Since 1973, the USGS reports that there have been 13 seismic events of 7.0 or greater in Chile. President-elect Sebastian Pinera told reporters that “this earthquake is a massive blow to Chilean society."

CHILE: President Bachelet Riding Popularity Wave As Term Nears End.

NYTIMES/ Portrait of Bachelet's legacy/
Recent polls show approval for President Michelle Bachelet to be above 70 percent, the highest level since Chile embraced democracy in 1990. Analysts applaud her handling of Chile's economy during the global downturn and decision to save billions of dollars from copper sales during the commodity boom, savings that allowed Chile to spend on pension reform and protections for women and children.

Chile's Bachelet To Distribute More Land To Mapuches.

LAHT/
Between now and the end of her term in March, Chile's President Michelle Bachelet will distribute 33,000 hectares (81,500 acres) of land among Mapuche Indian communities in Chile’s conflictive southern region of Araucania.Since 1999, 650,000 hectares of land, most of it state-owned, have been returned to the Mapuches.
Once the current initiative is complete, he said, another 150,000 and 170,000 hectares will be needed to fulfill the state’s obligation to the 650,000-strong Mapuche nation, Chile’s largest indigenous group.