Chile crosses more than 10,000 coronavirus deaths; president announces aid package

SANTIAGO - Chile recorded 10,159 coronavirus deaths on Sunday, as President Sebastian Pinera announced a $1.5 billion aid package to help the middle class, which has been battered by the economic crisis.

The death toll is compiled weekly by the Department of Statistics and Health (DEIS) and is considered to be the most accurate for reporting COVID-19 deaths by test results or by symptoms.

According to Sunday's report, there were 7,057 deaths confirmed via swab test and 3,102 "probable" deaths diagnosed via symptoms.

The DEIS figure contrasts with the official daily report that on Sunday showed 6,308 deaths out of 295,532 cases since the first case was detected in Chile four months ago.

Health Ministry epidemiological chief Rafael Araos explained Friday that the daily report's objective is provisional, recommending to use the DEIS figure instead.

The grim milestone comes as Pinera announced $1.5 billion in soft loans aimed at cushioning the blow of the economic crisis on Chile's middle class.

The measure still needs to be approved by Congress.

If approved, the package would provide for the delivery of a credit of up to $3,200 over four installments, with a zero interest rate and four years to repay it, along with the postponement of dividend payments with a state guarantee.

It also provides an extension of a subsidy for rent payment and a credit to pay for higher education.

"Chile is a mostly middle class country, which has progressed on the basis of its own merit, effort and work. The middle class knows this and is proud of its achievements. But it also deserves and needs assurances and opportunities for the future," Pinera said when presenting the aid package.

Middle-class families had been excluded from state aid provided to weather the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic in Chile.

Chile is one of the main global virus hotspots, as it was slow to implement lockdown measures and granted a large number of exceptions for "essential" workers once it did so on May 15.

Agence France-Presse

Coronavirus spread 'still accelerating' in Brazil, Peru, Chile: WHO

International health authorities expressed concern Tuesday over signs the spread of the new coronavirus is "still accelerating" in Brazil, Peru and Chile.

"In South America, we are particularly concerned that the number of new cases reported last week in Brazil was the highest for a seven-day period, since the outbreak began," said Carissa Etienne, director of the Washington-based Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

"Both Peru and Chile are also reporting a high incidence, a sign that transmission is still accelerating in these countries," she said at a weekly briefing.

The Pan American Health Organization, which serves as the regional office for the World Health Organization, has been monitoring the pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean.

With a total 2.4 million cases -- out of 5 million globally -- and more than 143,000 deaths from COVID-19 reported as of May 25, Latin America has outpaced Europe and the United States in the number of daily infections. 

The region is now "no doubt" the epicenter of the pandemic, Etienne said during the PAHO weekly briefing. 

She called for countries to keep up their fight to curb the spread of infections, which experts estimate far exceed the official count. 

"For most countries in the Americas, now is not the time to relax restrictions or scale back preventive strategies," she said. 

The PAHO recommended a combination of social distancing measures, testing and health system preparations to combat the coronavirus, which was declared a pandemic on March 11 after it appeared in China late last year. 

Etienne said Brazil's daily COVID-19 death toll is expected to peak at around 1,020 a day by June 22, citing the IHME model from the University of Washington in the United States. 

The model predicted two weeks ago that Brazil would see 88,305 coronavirus deaths by August 4, with a range between 30,302 deaths and 193,786 deaths possible.

With nearly 375,000 cases, Brazil now has the world's biggest coronavirus caseload after the United States. It has had 23,473 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Agence France-Presse

Latin America's largest airline LATAM files for bankruptcy in US

NEW YORK - Latin America's largest airline LATAM filed for bankruptcy in the US on Tuesday, the company said in a statement, following a drastic slump in business caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The world's travel and tourism sectors have been hammered by the contagion, as they are directly affected by border closures and population lockdowns.

"Given the impact that the COVID-19-generated crisis has had on the aviation industry, LATAM has been forced to make a series of extremely difficult decisions in the past few months," said the airline's chief executive Roberto Alvo in a video statement.

"LATAM Airlines Group and its affiliates in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia entered into a voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 protection in the United States," he added.

Chapter 11 proceedings allow a company that is no longer able to repay its debt to restructure without pressure from creditors.

Last month, the Chilean-Brazilian airline said it was scaling back its operations by 95 percent in response to the global health crisis. It also announced hundreds of job cuts earlier in May.

The airline said there would be no immediate impact on passenger or cargo flights.

"The US Chapter 11 financial reorganization process provides a clear and guided opportunity to work with our creditors and other stakeholders to reduce our debt, address commercial challenges that we, like others in our industry, are facing," its statement said.

It came just 2 weeks after Latin America's second largest airline, Colombia's Avianca, also filed for bankruptcy in the US to reorganize its debt "due to the unpredictable impact" of the pandemic.

The International Air Transport Association has forecast a $15 billion loss in revenue for Latin American airlines this year.

Before the pandemic, LATAM -- a merger of Chile's LAN and Brazil's TAM -- flew to 145 destinations in 26 countries, operating around 1,400 flights a day.

On Friday the World Health Organization declared Latin America "a new epicenter" of the coronavirus pandemic, as cases surge across the continent -- especially in Brazil, which now has the second highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases after the US.

Latin America and the Caribbean have reported more than 41,000 virus deaths and over 766,000 total cases, according to an AFP tally.

Agence France-Presse

Chile's middle class takes to streets over crushing debt

It is not poverty that is driving Chile's middle class into the streets to join massive protests: it is debt, brought on by sky-high private health and education costs that have created an economic fragility many find unbearable.

That is why so many have taken part in two weeks of social upheaval, protesting against the economic policies of Chile's ruling elite.

Chile has an economic record that is the envy of Latin America: poverty has never been lower, dropping from 40 percent to less than 10 percent in 30 years, and transforming this country of 18 million into one where middle class citizens are the majority.

But for many, the ultra-liberal economic model inherited from the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-90) -- which privatized water, health, education and pensions -- has generated a "permanent worry" about unexpected expenses.

Nicolas Achondo, 33, was forced to close his restaurant.

After paying bills, wages and taxes, he had nothing left for private health insurance.

A motorbike accident left him owing thousands of dollars for treatment.

"I couldn't pay, they put me on the debtors list. That closes all doors to you: you can no longer get a bank loan or rent an apartment," he said.

"I no longer had access to credit and my business started generating debts. It's very unfair."

Thanks to help from his family, he managed to pay off his debts but has no capital to relaunch his restaurant business. He now wants to emigrate to Canada.

"We don't get state subsidies. The only thing we can do is access bank loans to pay for housing, health, education, clothing," said Achondo.

His parents suffered the same fate. They owned a video store in the 1980s-90s but fell victim to evolving technology.

They managed to pay for their two eldest children's private education without needing loans, but could not afford the same for their younger two children, both of whom are in the vastly inferior public school system.

- 'With or without uterus' -
Marisol Berrios, a social worker, took out loans to pay for her two children's higher education.

"Now they're both university professors but they have insecure contracts. They receive the minimum wage and have no health care."

In a model with minimal state intervention, profitability is king.

As is often is the case, women are the hardest hit. They have to pay up to three times as much as men for health insurance when they want children.

"There are 'with uterus' contracts and 'without uterus' contracts that are cheaper. You pay a higher percentage when you're fertile," said Berrios.

Women also pay more in old age, says the 59-year-old, who admits to fearing retirement.

"I will retire in one year and my pension will be 170,000 pesos ($230)," said Berrios, who currently earns 1.2 million pesos ($1,620) a month.

"I went into depression about it this summer."

Health, education and pensions may be the biggest worries but on top of that are increases in electricity costs, a proliferation of motorway tolls around Santiago and an unregulated medication market.

For fed-up Chileans, it's this accumulation of expenses that weighs so heavily.

It was against this backdrop that a seemingly innocuous 3.75 percent hike in the price of a metro ticket lit a fuse under decades of pent-up frustration.

In a bid to douse the flames of discontent, conservative President Sebastian Pinera announced a raft of social measures: suspending a 9.2 percent hike in electricity bills and an annual 3.5 percent increase in toll charges.

But that didn't calm the public.

"Chile has awoken," has become one of the main slogans of anti-government protesters since October 18.

"We've woken up to the brutality of the system," said Berrios.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

APEC finance ministers express 'moderate' hope over US-China trade deal

SANTIAGO, Chile - APEC finance ministers expressed "moderate optimism" on Tuesday that the United States and China will end their trade war and sign an agreement during the forum's summit in Santiago next month.

For the last 18 months the world's 2 largest economies have been embroiled in a trade spat that saw tariffs placed on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods.

US President Donald Trump announced a partial deal last week.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin added on Monday that US and Chinese officials would hold phone talks over the next 2 weeks to finalize the "phase one" trade deal.

Finance ministers and representatives of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum met in Santiago on Tuesday and discussed the possibility of a full trade deal being signed next month.

Chile's finance minister, Felipe Larrain, said such an agreement would be "highly significant."

While he was somewhat optimistic, he also he warned that "planning and good intentions and the idea to sign it are one thing. Actually signing it is another."

"Hence, in some there's this natural dose of skepticism."

Few specifics of the deal are known except that it covers intellectual property, financial services and currencies. Washington has also scrapped tariff increases planned for this week and could do so with others scheduled for December.

New Zealand's finance minister Grant Robertson warned against getting carried away, though.

"We also have to acknowledge that there is some way to go before this is fully resolved, but it is important for the whole world that this trade war is ended," he said.

The finance ministers are due to issue a joint statement backing free trade at the end of their meeting.

APEC is an inter-governmental forum made up of 21 economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Those economies make up 40 percent of the world's population, 60 percent of its gross domestic product and 50 percent of total trade, according to the Chile summit organizers.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said the US-China trade war alone is estimated to shrink the world economy by 0.8 percent in 2020, but a truce would reduce that impact.

Policymakers should work to find resolutions to trade disputes, the IMF urged.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Delta buys 20 percent stake in Latam Airlines for $1.9 billion

NEW YORK - Delta will acquire a 20 percent stake in South American carrier Latam Airlines Group for $1.9 billion, the companies announced Thursday.

The venture, described as a "strategic partnership," will add to the networks of both companies, which include Delta's existing partnership with AeroMexico, the companies said in a joint press release.

Under the transaction, Delta will invest $350 million in the partnership, acquire four of Latam's Airbus A350 aircraft and assume the South American company's commitment to purchase 10 more of the planes.

Delta will also have board representation at Latam, the companies said.

"This transformative partnership with Latam will bring together our leading global brands, enabling us to provide the very best service and reliability for travelers to, from and throughout the Americas," said Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian.

"This alliance with Delta strengthens our company and enhances our leadership in Latin America by providing the best connectivity through our highly complementary route networks," said Enrique Cueto Plaza, chief executive at Latam.

New York-listed shares of Latam Airlines Group shot up 22.6 percent to $11.05 in after-hours trading, while Delta was flat.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

6 die after plane hits house in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile - Six people died on Tuesday after a light aircraft crashed into a house in southern Chile, authorities said.

The plane plummeted after getting entangled in power lines shortly after take-off from La Paloma airport in Puerto Montt, a port city 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to the south of the capital Santiago, said Harry Jurgensen, the governor of the Los Lagos region.

Local television pictures showed the house, which caught fire after being hit by the plane, completely gutted.

The plane's tail could be seen on television images lying in the garden of the destroyed house.

Authorities did not reveal the identity of the victims but said the pilot was among the dead -- two women and four men.

No one was in the house when the plane hit.

The aircraft was owned by the "Archipielago" company, which operates commercial flights in a region that is difficult to access.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Chile's Pinera wins presidency as opponent concedes

SANTIAGO - Billionaire conservative Sebastian Pinera won Chile's presidency on Sunday, with his center-left opponent Alejandro Guillier conceding the election as Chile followed other South American nations in a political turn to the right.

With 98.44 percent of the ballots counted, Pinera, 68, had won 54.57 percent in the run-off vote, to 45.43 percent for senator Guillier, a wider than expected margin in a race that pollsters had predicted would be tight.

Months of campaigning exposed deepening rifts among the country's once bedrock center-left, an opening former president Pinera leveraged to rally more centrist voters around his proposals to cut corporate taxes, double economic growth and eliminate poverty in the world's top copper producer.

In his concession speech at a hotel in downtown Santiago, Guillier called his loss a "harsh defeat" and urged his supporters to defend the progressive reforms of outgoing President Michelle Bachelet's second term.

Many Chileans had viewed the election as a referendum on her policies, which focused on reducing inequality by making education more affordable and overhauling the tax code.

Pinera's supporters cheered the news at his campaign headquarters as the results were swiftly tabulated on a hot and sunny Santiago evening.

Though neither candidate would have marked a dramatic shift from Chile's long-standing free-market economic model, a Pinera victory underscores an increasing tilt to the right in South America following the rise of conservative leaders in Peru, Argentina and Brazil.

Pinera painted Guillier, a former TV anchorman and current senator, as extreme in a country known for its moderation, and likened him to Venezuela socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

But Pinera's own conservative agenda may also struggle, at a time when efforts by his ideological allies in Brazil and Argentina to reduce fiscal deficits by cutting spending have faced political opposition and sparked protests.

The investor favorite, Pinera's proposals are seen as miner-friendly in a country where copper is king. He has pledged support and stable funding for Chile's state-run miner Codelco , and has promised to slash red tape which had bogged down projects under Bachelet.

After a leftist party made unexpected gains in November's first round, Pinera sought to woo less well-off voters with proposals such as the creation of a public pension fund to compete with Chile's much-criticized private pension funds, and the expansion of free education.

The race marks a turning point for Chile's historic coalition of center-left parties, previously known as the Concertacion. The pact fissured under Bachelet, riven by disagreements over policies such as loosening Chile's strict abortion laws and strengthening unions.

Pinera seized on the backlash, campaigning on a platform of scaling back and "perfecting" her tax and labor laws, seen by many in the business community as crimping investment at a time slumping copper prices were weighing on the economy.

"I voted for Pinera because I am an entrepreneur. I value my own efforts and do not expect much from the government," said Rosario Poma, 53. "I think (Pinera) will be good for investment."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Germany survive Chile onslaught to win Confederations Cup

ST PETERSBURG - Germany survived a whirlwind assault by Chile and capitalized on an awful mistake by the South Americans to claim a 1-0 victory in a pulsating, bad-tempered Confederations Cup final on Sunday.

Germany won the title for the first time after Lars Stindl scored the only goal in the 20th minute when Chile midfielder Marcelo Diaz gave the ball away on the edge of his own area.

Chile, playing with their trademark high octane style and driven forward by another relentless display by Arturo Vidal, dominated the match but were let down by poor finishing.

A dramatic game featured missed chances, defensive howlers, scuffles and two video reviews, one producing a highly controversial outcome in the second half.

Chile defender Gonzalo Jara elbowed Timo Werner by the touchline and Serbian referee Milorad Mazic, alerted by the video assistants, let him off with a yellow card instead of a red.

Shortly afterwards, Mazic turned down Chilean appeals for a penalty, stood by his original decision after another review incident and booked Eduardo Vargas for drawing an imaginary television screen.

It was a remarkable achievement for Germany to lift the trophy with a young, experimental squad, although it could also be a bad omen as no team has ever won the World Cup after winning the Confederations Cup the year before.

"The fact that these young players have won this tournament makes it an historic achievement, it's unique in Germany's history, it's outstanding," said Germany coach Joachim Loew.

OPEN GOAL

Chile flew into the game in their inimitable style and Alexis Sanchez should have put them in front, but shot wide from close range after keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen parried Vidal's shot.

Germany struck almost immediately as Diaz lost the ball on the edge of his penalty area to Timo Werner who slipped it through for Stindl to score into an open goal.

Chile kept missing their chances, continued to look vulnerable on the break and nearly gifted Germany another goal before halftime when Jara gave the ball away in defence, but this time Claudio Bravo saved Leon Goretzka's shot.

Germany were happy to contain Chile and play on their mistakes in the second half, although they were living dangerously at times.

Substitute Angelo Sagal scooped the ball over the bar from close range and Ter Stegen pushed away an Alexis Sanchez free kick in almost the last action of the game.

"We put our ideas into practice," said Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi. "We took the initiative, we took control and created chances.... but because of one of those things, those accidents, that happen in football, it was our turn to lose."

(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Ken Ferris)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Chile counts cost of 'nightmare' quake

COQUIMBO, Chile - Traumatized Chileans described Thursday the terrifying moment a powerful earthquake hit, killing at least 11 people and triggering tsunami waves that ravaged long stretches of the coast.

The 8.3-magnitude offshore earthquake Wednesday evening was the sixth strongest in the history of geologically volatile Chile and the most powerful anywhere in the world this year, officials said.

Close to one million people were evacuated from Pacific coastal areas as a precaution as Chile sounded a tsunami alert, with warnings issued as far away as Japan and New Zealand.

Residents took refuge on high ground as aftershocks jolted the region all night and into Thursday.

Maria Zamorano, 60, recounted how she and her large family ran from the shoreline in Coquimbo to save themselves from the surging tsunami waves.

"If we had stayed here we would have perished," she told AFP.

The quake occurred at a shallow depth and the epicenter was 228 kilometers (about 140 miles) north of the capital Santiago, a city of 6.6 million people, where there were scenes of pandemonium as thousands fled swaying buildings.

In the hours that followed, tsunami waves of up to 4.5 meters (15 feet) came crashing onshore in Coquimbo region, 400 kilometers north of Santiago, causing extensive damage to the region's main port.

Fishing boats, trucks, cars and the remains of dozens of houses were among the debris bobbing up and down in Coquimbo city's waterfront on Thursday.

There were similar scenes in the badly hit coastal town of Illapel.

"It was a nightmare," Maria Ramirez told AFP as she swept up debris outside her house.

"We felt the tremors for a long time, too long. And then all the aftershocks -- it was terrible," she said.

"I couldn't stay standing, but luckily we made it out alive."

- Ring of fire -

President Michelle Bachelet headed to the quake-hit area Thursday to assess the relief efforts and Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States was ready to help.

"We know this is a very difficult situation," Bachelet said after meeting a group of local fishermen in Coquimbo.

"But we wish to salute the enormous cooperation of the population which ensured that -- despite the scale of this earthquake -- there are thankfully few victims."

The most recent toll from the quake stood at 11 dead, with nine others injured, according to National Emergency Office (ONEMI) director Ricardo Toro.

The last known victim was a man killed in Coquimbo.

At least 526 homes were damaged in the quake, most of them in the Coquimbo region, according to the ONEMI. A state of emergency was declared in the area, Interior Minister Jorge Burgos said.

Chile lies on what is known as the "Ring of Fire" -- an arc of fault lines that circles the Pacific Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

In February 2010, an 8.8-magnitude quake off the southern Chilean coast killed more than 500 people and inflicted an estimated $30 billion in damages.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had warned that tsunami waves were possible this time in French Polynesia, Hawaii and California, as well as smaller waves as far afield as Japan and New Zealand.

A minor tsunami was monitored in northern Japan early Friday, authorities there said.

- 'Horrific moment' -

In Illapel, a town of 30,000, daybreak revealed the damage done, with power knocked out, shacks destroyed, store shelves overturned and the local cemetery a chaos of broken crosses, vases and coffins.

"It was the most horrific moment, a terrible thing," local resident Ana Cortes, 35, told AFP. "Everything just kept moving, for the longest time."

Facebook said it had activated a geolocation tool allowing people in Chile to reassure friends and loved ones.

The Safety Check tool is accessed through Facebook's regular interface, and lets members check whether their contacts are in a disaster zone, signal their own presence and let others know they are safe and well.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

The California Cook: Green chile enchantment

At Ventura's Arroyo Verde Park on Sunday, if you squinted really, really hard, you could almost believe you were in the mountains of New Mexico — the steep, brush-covered hillsides, the pine trees and, most important, the smell of roasting green chiles hanging in the air.

Of course, once you opened your eyes you couldn't help but notice the palms and eucalyptus, and then there were the booming sounds of Armenian pop coming from the wedding at the next clearing.

But that momentary illusion was enough for the more than 100 Los Angeles area alumni of the University of New Mexico who were gathered for the group's 20th annual chile roasting fundraiser.

The roasting of fiery green chiles is a ritual in New Mexico, as much a part of the transition to fall as back-to-school sales, afternoon thunderstorms and the state fair. All over the Land of Enchantment, the pungent smell of fire-blackened peppers hangs in the air.

And now it has come to Southern California. Over the last few years, Hatch green chile roasts have become a big deal. Not just a big deal, a huge deal. Area foodies start sharing rumors about them in early summer. And information on where they are being held is collected on websites such as Chowhound.

Pictures on Facebook over the weekend showed what appeared to be several hundred people standing in line at a supermarket in La Habra, waiting patiently for their peppers.

The University of New Mexico event is far from the biggest in Southern California, but it may well be the oldest. And it almost certainly draws the most passionate consumers.

What may taste to an outsider like edible napalm is mother's milk to New Mexicans.

"Anyone who tries it gets addicted to green chiles," says Reuben Valles, a member of UNM's class of 1993 and now a doctor in Encino. "It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from. Once you get the taste, you can't lose it."

Valles says he and his wife, Rebecca, usually buy a sack at the roast — that's about 35 pounds, an amount that is respectable but hardly notable, at least among this crowd.

Jim Corriere, class of 1992, who drives in from Brawley every year for the event, went home with 80 pounds. And one extended family accounted for 100 pounds among them.

That's a far cry from the group's first chile roast, says Gary Bednorz, class of 1987 and a student recruiter for the university. It was Bednorz who organized that event, and he has been at all 20 of them.

The first year, a supplier "sent me up a banana box of green chiles, like 25 pounds," he says. "I told them, 'That's fine for me, but what about everyone else?' I can go through 25 pounds in a month, no problem."

These days the group goes through about 1,500 pounds of chilesin an afternoon, limited only by the amount Bednorz can fit in the back of his truck. At the event they're roasted in a big rotary bin over butane flames, sorted and packed into zip-lock bags to take home and be frozen until needed.

What do people do with all of that chile? You name it. For a New Mexican, there's no dish that can't be improved by its addition. Traditionally it's simmered into a sauce for enchiladas, stewed with lamb, beef or pork, or stuffed for chile rellenos. It is mashed together with tomatoes and onions for chile caribe. Sometimes posole is made with green chile instead of red.

But that's just the classics. In modern New Mexico, green chile is just as popular as a topping for cheeseburgers and pizzas and for adding a bit of spice to omelets, quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches, among countless other things.

When Studio City attorney J.D. Lopez, class of 2000, is asked his favorite way to use peppers, he takes a long pause to think about it, and his wife, Rana, rolls her eyes: "You want him to name just one?"

It almost seems like it would be more difficult to name a dish that Pepe Ugarte, class of 1984, doesn't put green chile in. "I put it in my turkey gravy for Thanksgiving, and it's in the stuffing too," he says. "And when I make a big rib roast for Christmas? There's green chile in the gravy for that too.

"Green chile is a reminder of life's simple pleasures."

source: latimes.com

Chile McDonald's patron finds mouse tail in burger

SANTIAGO (AFP) - Health authorities in Chile on Tuesday confirmed what one man has claimed for weeks: that he found a mouse tail in his McDonald's hamburger.

Back in June, the man noticed something unusual when he bit into the hamburger he bought at a McDonald's restaurant in the southern town of Temuco, some 700km south of the Chilean capital Santiago.

He said it appeared to be a mouse tail, and filed a complaint with local health authorities.

On Tuesday, Mr Waldo Armstrong, head of the regional health department, confirmed what the customer had feared.

source: straitstimes.com

Chile beats 10-man Switzerland at World Cup

PORT ELIZABETH (AP) – Chile broke through the formerly impenetrable Swiss defense, and Mark Gonzalez's goal might be enough to get the South Americans into the second round of the World Cup.

Substitute Gonzalez scored on a header in the 75th minute Monday as Chile beat 10-man Switzerland 1-0 to move closer to a spot in the final 16. The Chileans could move on before they take the field again if Spain and Honduras draw Monday night.

Before Chile scored, Switzerland set a World Cup record in the 69th minute by going 551 minutes without allowing a goal, breaking the mark of 550 held by Italy at the 1986 and 1990 tournaments. Chile has won both its games in Group H.

"This is for my family and for all the people who have supported us in Chile," Gonzalez said. "This was a great moment for me and for our team."

Gonzalez headed home a pass from fellow sub Esteban Paredes, who had gotten around the staunch Swiss defense and crossed to Gonzalez at the back post. Gonzalez's downward header beat goalkeeper Diego Benaglio.

"We are in a good position, and we have one more game to prove ourselves even more," Gonzalez said of Friday's match against Spain at Pretoria.

Switzerland played a man down since the 31st minute when midfielder Valone Behrami was sent off with a straight red card for rough play against Arturo Vidal. That ejection irked the Swiss.

"For me, it was just an unbelievable decision," Behrami said. "There was small contact with my hands on his neck, and he went down like (he was hit with) an elbow. Everyone can make a mistake, but this mistake was very, very big for me because it's a dream to play in a World Cup."

Vidal admitted he was surprised by the red card.

"I felt his elbow on my neck," Vidal said. "It was a definite yellow card, but I wasn't expecting a send-off."

The last goal the Swiss allowed came on July 2, 1994 when they were eliminated 3-0 by Spain in the second round. Aitor Begiristain scored from a penalty kick in the 87th minute 16 years ago.

Swiss sub Eren Derdiyok nearly equalized in the 90th minute but drove his shot wide from in front of the net as Switzerland put on late pressure.

Chile had all the first-half pressure even before Behrami's ejection for hitting two Chileans in the face within seconds.

Alexis Sanchez appeared to give Chile the lead in the 49th minute, but was clearly offside. He nearly scored in the 55th minute on a break but was thwarted from the right side by Benaglio.

Chile included striker Humberto Suazo in its starting lineup, while Steven Von Bergen replaced injured defender Philippe Senderos for Switzerland. Senderos, who has an injured his right ankle, will also miss Switzerland's final match.

Suazo was replaced by Jorge Valdivia to start the second half.

"Suazo played the first half-hour where the space was very small and the ball rarely hit the area he was playing, hardly any possibility to move forward," Bielsa said. "It was very difficult for him to lead the attack in this kind of situation."

Chile's Carlos Carmona received one of nine yellow cards handed out by Saudi Arabian referee Khalilk Al Ghamdia. It was Carmona's second of the tournament, and he will miss Chile's match against Spain.

The game started in a sea of red — Chilean and Swiss fans in their predominant colors, and many empty seats, which are mostly red at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Costumes included a woman dressed in a full-length cow outfit and dozens of Chilean flags.

Source: The Philippine Star (philstar.com)