Massad: Chile can cushion the impact of financial crisis

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SANTIAGO.- Amidst the current sub-prime crisis in the United States, the former president of the Central Bank, Carlos Massad, has stated that Chile will suffer a "more cushioned" impact compared to world markets.

"We are not going to come out unscathed, because no one is immune to this, but the impact will not be felt as heavily here compared to almost any other country in the world", Massad told Radio Cooperativa.

The former Central Bank president explained that the prices of main raw materials are already falling and the demand abroad will decrease considerably for Chilean products.  Nevertheless, Massad maintained that he is convinced that the country "prepared itself beforehand".

The economist deemed Congress' rejection of the bailout plan proposed by George W. Bush "the worst sign" of the crisis.

"Europe is already in recession, and in the United States all signs are pointing in the same direction, Chile has experienced a major plunge in their stock exchanges and those are all bad signs", asserted Massad.