Just before midnight on Wednesday, the central zone of Chile suffered an aftershock registering 6.1 on the Richter scale, following Saturday’s devastating earthquake. This is the second time that the country has suffered tremors registering over 6 points on the Richter scale after the original quake on 27th February, which was recorded at 8.8.

According to the Seismological Institute of the United States, by Wednesday afternoon over 190 new tremors had been recorded in central and southern regions of Chile. No fresh casualties have been reported, although the tremors caused widespread fear as well as electricity cuts in the municipality of Lampa.

The original earthquake, which took place during the early hours of Saturday in the central-southern zone of Chile, was followed by a devastating tsunami, which is feared to have left more dead that the quake itself. So far, over 800 casualties have been confirmed.

Speaking to radio ADN this morning, Chile’s president, Michelle Bachelet, estimated that reconstruction after the earthquake would last “at least three years”. The cost of rebuilding is currently estimated to be around US$30 billion, equivalent to 15% of the country’s GDP.

Bachelet said “we are going to have to ask for help, and we hope that through the World Bank and other initiatives we’ll be able to come up with enough money. There’s destruction of infrastructure, of motorways. In the affected zones we have 29 hospitals very badly affected.” She confirmed: “without a doubt, we are going to have to work with international organisations.”

However, despite the destruction, aid is starting to reach the victims and the country’s infrastructure is showing some signs of recovery. As of Thursday, over 800 tons of aid had already been delivered to those affected, with another 900 due to be distributed in the coming days. Santiago airport has reopened its domestic terminal, and today 50% of scheduled flights are due to take place.

Nevertheless, the government has faced criticism for reacting slowly to the crisis. Four days after the earthquake took place Jacqueline van Rysselberghe, the mayor of Concepción, complained to the BBC that as yet she hadn’t received “even a teabag”. Bachelet responded to criticisms, as she told Radio Cooperativa “We are all generals after the war…enough with looking for people to blame, today the first problem is helping the people.”

Chile has been criticised for its discriminatory treatment of women, homosexuals and indigenous people following a United Nations report.

Chile’s military was also criticised for not punishing crimes committed during its dictatorship (1973-1990), and it has been alleged that the the judicidal system in the country is unfair to minors.

The investigation by ONU (United Nations Department for Human Rights) principally focused on women’s rights.  It cited the unfair treatment towards them regarding property after marriage. Current legislation states that on marrying, a woman cannot “establish a commercial relationship with her own money (gained prior to matrimony) without the permission of her husband”.

ONU also emphasised that despite having a female president, Michelle Bachelet, the lack of political representation is alarmingly low amongst women.

As well as that, the comission pointed out that “there are more unemployed women than men and they receive substantially lower salaries”.

Discrimination levels against homosexuals and indigenous people were also regarded as high. Whilst gays and transexuals suffered particularly in the health and justice sectors, the Mapuche indigenous community lived in “poverty and with poor levels of human development, due to a long history of discrimination and social exclusion”.

The justice system was reprimanded for not sharing information about mass crimes carried out during the dictatorship, for example in ‘Operation Condor’ and ‘Colonial Dignity’. The judicial power of the military was criticised because of its continual right to hold tribunals away from the national justice system in certain cases.

ONU then warned about high levels of youths between 14-16 being judged and convicted in the adult system.

James Anaya, a Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, has suggested after a five day visit to Chile that the indigenous Mapuche people do suffer from cases of victimisation. Mr Anaya stated that there is evidence that Chilean police have used excessive violence against the Mapuche.

Chile’s leading authority on indigenous rights, Observatorio Ciudadano, has indicated that the Mapuche indigenous population are amongst those most vulnerable to police abuse.

Mr Anaya stated, as is the problem with most instances of police brutality, that it is difficult to establish concrete facts.

It seems that the Mapuche communities have long been involved in disputes with the government, and issues involving property. Support groups such as Amnesty International state that excessive police violence has been used to curb Mapuche street protests, and have raided Mapuche communities without proper authorisation. The Mapuche have also expressed discontent at the state imposing on their ancestral land. Various NGOs have documented numerous cases whereby police have invaded Mapuche homes using violence.

Having met with the Chilean president during his visit, Michelle Bachelet, Mr Anaya has expressed that the Bachelet government has done a lot to help the indigenous communities, but that there is a lot still to be done.

Mr Anaya also mentioned that he had recieved information from the NGOs that he said to be “high quality investigative work”. He went onto speak about hearing directly from specific individuals who have relayed specific experiences.

He has further expressed that there are indeed grounds on which to ”take these allegations very seriously”.