Chilean president accused of cooking poverty data
Sep 11, 1:19 PM EDT
Chilean president accused of cooking poverty data
By EVA VERGARA and FEDERICO QUILODRAN
Associated Press
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- The Chilean president's efforts to squeeze political advantage from his campaign to reduce poverty have backfired, opening him up to accusations that he distorted statistics to show progress on a campaign promise.
No one can deny that President Sebastian Pinera has made real efforts to combat poverty, fostering job creation and providing cash handouts to the poorest Chileans.
But his claim that his government has lifted one of every four people out of extreme poverty led to an embarrassing clash with a prestigious U.N. agency, which publicly distanced itself from the government's numbers. Doubts grew as well because officials let 49 days pass before explaining on Friday how they calculated the figures for the once-every-three-years household income survey.
Pinera himself had ratcheted up the pressure in May when he reiterated his campaign promise to defeat extreme poverty before he leaves office in 2014.
More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_CHILE_POVERTY_NUMBERS?SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
(The current Chilean President is a supporter of the late torturing, mass murdering, Richard Nixon-assisted coup General Augusto Pinochet.)