'Chile's political model is best for Latin America,' Piñera says

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera called on Latin America to take advantage of its potential for growth and development while saying that the political models of countries like Venezuela and Cuba “don’t lead anywhere.”

“The challenge for countries today is to take complete advantage of the potential available,” he said. Piñera added: “What other continent has as much potential as Latin America?”

The president spoke during his first administrative visit to Spain, which ends tomorrow.

He went on to say that the continent is “blessed, full of natural resources, and it hasn’t had to deal with the horrid wars that affected Europe, it hasn’t seen religious crises, and it hasn’t seen racial or tribal clashes like Africa has.”

The 21st century “is Latin America’s,” insisted Piñera who, however, said that there are “two opposing visions.”

“The two points of view have to do with how to deal with the global issues, social issues, economic issues, etc.,” said the president.

El Siglo XXI "es el siglo de América Latina", insistió Piñera, quien, sin embargo, constató que hay "dos visiones" contrapuestas.

“I believe that the model we’re sticking to in Chile is certainly the best one for this country and the best model for Latin America, but each nation has a right to go its own way as long as it respects human rights and democracy,” he said.