Since last week more than 400.000 public workers were on strike during 48 hours along Chile, and today they continue as undefined labor strike due to disagreement for minimal salary ($160.000 Chilean Pesos) and a 14% raise for 2009, due to economical inflation and monthly consumers’ tax overpassing an accumulated 14% in December 2008.

The organization ANEF (Association of National Public Employees) agreed with this new National Strike after the support of different Public organized groups of Chilean Employees and others (Teachers, Accountants, Doctors, Engineers, Municipal workmen, University Students, and High school Students).

So they expect an increase of strikers this week. President, Michelle Bachelet, has put off today’s agenda, and hopes the Labor Secretary, the Finance Secretary and her Vice President, Antonio Vera Gallo, can come to mutual agreement with the ANEF leaders this day, so as to retake normal public activities and issues and the Chilean people can continue their normal assistance and help in all Public Offices, Hospitals and Schools.

Yesterday evening, Chile soccer team showed an outstanding and dynamic model of playing before Argentina National soccer team during the whole match. At the very beginning, most soccer fans were astonishingly surprised by the local team strategy and the nominated list of players assigned by the local coach, Marcelo Bielsa, just 10 minutes before the match got started. To speak the truth, media broadcasters, sport journalists and most of Chilean fans felt shockingly disappointed spreading their skeptical views on the television and radio 5 minutes before the ball was kicked off.

But this distrusting stomach sense turned over after 15 minutes when the Chilean left forward player,Jean Beausoujour’s alarming shot, slightly slipped over the Argentinian goalkeeper’s hand and then a new atmosphere full of a strongly dominant attitude for playing was set individually and group ally in the Chilean soccer team.

Since 1973 directed by the Chilean coach, Luis Alamos, our local national soccer team could never beat Argentina’s team at home, all along 5 world cup pre-qualifying Latin American matches in 35 years.

When Chile soccer team out stood in physical and strategic model playing for more than 35 minutes during the 1st half,the Chilean right forward player, Fabian Orellana, scored the historic goal which changed Chilean National soccer history, placing our team in the 4th place in the Latin American classification chart this year. Next classification round will continue in March 2009 for all Latin American soccer teams.

Argentinian news from El Clarin heads :” We Ain’t Nothing”( No Somos Nada, image below). And the Argentinian coach, Alfio Basile, recognized Chilean team’s awesome playing and summed up his view as: “We’ve been fairly beaten and now we must go to church and cry!”

Chilean fans celebrated till this time in the streets and public places and restaurants this extraordinary event in Chilean Soccer time line.

Theoretically, any citizen can apply as a candidate for a new Municipal Major or City Counselor in 345 districts (communes) in Chile.

For the first time as a reinforcing tool for democracy there is a specialized web platform named as “Portal de la Democracia“, where you can meet all candidates and even ask them specific questions on specific political radio programs and on line box systems about their political issues and policies.

Actually we are officially 8.110.265 voters according to SERVEL ( National Government Elections System on line) and we have 1.231 candidates for 345 positions as major districts!

Not to mention, an infested web-media propaganda on the Youtube or specific Political websites of our national media.

Even the international economical crisis has been somehow undersized to a second or third place in all districts due to 2008 Municipal Campaign: watching big ads of the candidates along the streets and highroads, on buses and trucks, or over and advertising platform, or magazines and newspapers during our last 3 months. Let alone the candidates break-ins in our homes, presenting personally their political plans and policies for our neighborhood and rural areas, giving different political materials such as stickers, pens, calendars, umbrellas, caps, and even pen drives and ipods for the young, or glasses and sweaters for the old ones. We face most of them for the first time in our lives!! And the candidates are heard and contacted warmly though they visit a living promoting a different candidate ad on the front window.

In less than a year, two new political parties have officialized their trend and support and registered in SERVEL Elections Government Department, representing approximately a group of 10% of dissident official list: ex supporters of the actual center-left Party’s Government “La Concertacion” .
These 2 new parties are Chile Primero and PRI of Regionalists. The official Head of the Senate is the president of political PRI party, Sen. Adolfo Zaldivar. Both groups were supported by dissident political leaders and senators in 2007 and many young and middle aged citizenship who felt embarrassed to support official Government issues and corrupted policies applied during the period 2006-2008. As a result of this new political trends, many specialist view a fascinating oncoming Presidential Elections for 2009 with this new political scenario in Chile.

According to official candidates’ website: a 26% of the voters have not defined a specific support, and more than a 50% doesn’t know the formal plans and policies of the candidates, so...

On October 26th, we have to vote for a candidate for Local major and a candidate for Local counselor during the next 4 years or to boat in some lake or river nearby waiting up for the results till next morning news from a reliable media broadcasting device... it’s such a good chance for this summer Sunday day in the nicest northern, central or southern area landscaping the Andes mountains in Chile.