People in a Chilean tourist town smashed to pieces by the devastating earthquake said they were pinning their hopes for renewal on the country's new president as the national death toll reached 279.
The earthquake on February 27 destroyed the town of Dichato, leaving huge piles of wreckage and a revolting stench.
Nothing short of mammoth reconstruction can return Dichato to a semblance of what it was and survivors there - and throughout the disaster zone - said they were hoping President-elect Sebastian Pinera, a conservative billionaire who takes office next week, was up to the job.
"Chile is a country on the rise, economically strong, with many businesses. And because of this we expected more" of President Michelle Bachelet's left-wing administration, said Amanda Ruiz, a building firm secretary. "We're disillusioned."
"I think he (Mr Pinera) has the ability to do it," said Luis Omar Cid Jara, 66, whose bakery and roast chicken shop in Dichato's high street were destroyed.
Critics said Ms Bachelet was initially reluctant to summon the military to stop looting and deliver aid, given the armed forces' brutal repression of the Chilean left in the past, especially during the 1973-1990 dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
Mr Pinera stepped up his criticism of the outgoing president, calling for sweeping modernisation of Chile's disaster system to eliminate what he called "the lack of co-ordination and the weaknesses that this tragedy has uncovered with brutal eloquence".
He has named new governors for the six hardest-hit regions and told them to get to work even before his inauguration.
He said his immediate priorities were to find the missing, ensure law and order, restore utilities and tend to the injured.
Mr Pinera said his administration would work more closely with the military on disasters than Ms Bachelet and pledged to rebuild "with the most modern and efficient standards".
But Ms Bachelet, whose approval ratings were sky-high before the quake, bristled at the criticism and insisted "Chile will rise" from the devastation.
Touring an aid distribution centre in the heavily-damaged city of Concepcion, she denied any delays or indecision in the hours following the quake.
Military chiefs had complained they could not deploy troops to quash looting or deliver aid until Ms Bachelet finally declared a state of emergency more than 24 hours after the temblor.
In the coastal town of Constitucion, firefighters were looking for bodies of people swept away by the tsunami as they camped on Isla Orrego, an island in the mouth of the Maure River that flows through the city.
Constitucion suffered perhaps the greatest loss of life in the disaster, in part because many people had come for carnival celebrations and were caught in huge waves that reached the central plaza.
"There were about 200 people in tents who disappeared" on Isla Orrego, fire brigade chief Miguel Reyes said.
An Associated Press Television News crew witnessed several bodies being recovered, including that of a baby girl washed up on the beach.
Volunteers visited camps in the hills created by people who abandoned their ruined property in town, fearing another tsunami because of frequent aftershocks, handing out carloads of clothing and food.
In Dichato, firefighters used long poles to probe for bodies in huge piles of muddy sand and beach wreckage. The navy ferried troops ashore to help unload 86 tonnes of food.
Dichato is nestled between pine-forested hills and a picturesque sheltered bay where colourful fishing boats served coastal communities and export companies.
Its residents proudly note their beach is the only one in the region where children could swim safely in the ocean.