Chile President: 'Hiring my Brother as Ambassador was not Nepotism'

Conservative President Sebastian Pinera was under fire this weekend for appointing his brother Pablo as Chile's new ambassador in Argentina only one month after he took office as the country new president.

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Piñera, a conservative billionaire and ex-president whose first term between 2010 and 2014, responded to the criticisms during a public event on Sunday at the Cantalao Park, inaugurated on World's Earth Day, denying the appointment consisted in “nepotism.”

“I did not hire him for being my brother, but because I believe he has all the qualifications.”

The son of a prominent centrist politician, Pinera is a former Harvard student who made his fortune introducing credit cards to Chile in the 1980s.

As of 2017, he was ranked #745 on Forbes’ global rich list, with a US$2.7 billion fortune.

Piñera's first term in office, before he was succeeded by former President Michelle Bachelet,  was marred by incessant street protests over rising inequality by thousands of students seeking an education overhaul.