COUNTRY BRIEF: CHILE

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• COUNTRY BRIEF CHILE

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CHILE BASIC STATS

• Population 16.9 million
• GNP/capita 8,350 USD
• Poverty rate 13.7

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STRATEGIES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• The Liberal Era (1880s-1920s)
• Import-Substitution Industrialization
  (1930s-1970s)
• The Socialist Alternative (1950s-1980s)
• Neoliberalism (1980s-present)
• The new Left
• ALBA

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CHILE OVERVIEW

• Natural Resource Minerals
• Nitrates
• Copper
• Sparse migration
• Export-Import Growth
• Pacific Coast connections
• Copper as key
• Political democracy (of sorts)
• Democracy and Military Rule
• Party politics (1940s-70s)
• Socialism via democracy? Salvador Allende
  (1970-73)
• The Pinochet regime (1973-1989)
• Neoliberal Politics and Policy
• Democracy (1990-present)
• Economic uncertainty reliance on exports
  (again)

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KEY QUESTIONS

• 1. Why such a brutal (and durable) dictatorship
  under Pinochet?
• 2. Why such a vibrant democracy now?

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MILITARY RULE

• Perception of threat
• Tradition of labor mobilization
• Links to political parties
• Left socialist, communist
• Center Christian Democracy
• Right National Party (PN)
• Cold War mentality, doctrines of national
  security
• Support from the United States

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• The Dictatorial Solution
• Military as bulwark of patriotism
• Weakness of conservative institutions
• Need to purge subversive elements
• Reconstruction of society (and economy)
• Pinochet in command
• Constitution of 1980
• The Stunning Plebiscite (1988)
• Victory of No (55-43 percent)
• Bargaining and guarantees
• Protections for the right

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DEMOCRACY RESTORED

• Human rights
• Truth and Reconciliation commission
• 1998 arrest of Pinochet
• Economics
• A gift of the dictator
• Consensus on free-market policies
• Politics
• Restoration of golden age
• Formation of Concertación (center-left)

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INSTITUTIONAL FEATURES

• Executive
• MRO
• Four-year terms (renewable after one interim
  term)
• Legislative
• Bicameral structure (Chamber of Deputies 120
  members, Senate 38)
• Voting rules to help the right (binomial
  system)
• Located in Valparaíso
• Weak resources, but increasing authority
• Judiciary
• 20 justices on Supreme Court, tenure for life
• Court creates list of 5, President selects one,
  two-thirds Senate confirms

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QUALITIES OF CHILEAN DEMOCRACY

• One of only three countries to receive perfect
  scores from Freedom House (along with Costa Rica
  and Uruguay)
• Top ranking on corruption from Transparency
  International (22 in world)
• Top ranking on rule of law according to World
  Bank (1.25, range - 2.50)

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DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTS

• Center-Left alliance Concertación
• Patricio Aylwin (1990-94)
• Eduardo Frei (1994-2000)
• Ricardo Lagos (2000-06)
• Michelle Bachelet (2006-10)
• Right
• Sebastián Piñera (2010- )

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THE WASHINGTON CONSENSUS

• Reducing the role of the state
• Less regulation
• Less public ownership
• Liberalizing trade
• Reducing tariffs and quotas less protection
• Seeking commercial partners
• Promoting private enterprise
• Privatization
• Foreign investment

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POLICIES IN CHILE

• Trade liberalization
• Unilateral
• FTAs
• Diversification of destinations
• Privatization
• Stability (low inflation)
• Foreign investment
• Poverty and inequality

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EXPORTS

• Products copper, fruits and nuts, fish and
  seafood, wood (and wine)
• Partners (2009)
• China 16.5
• USA 11.3
• Japan 9.1
• South Korea 6.5
• Brazil 4.6
• Mexico 4.1

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INEQUALITY

• Mexico .461
• Argentina .513
• Chile .549
• Brazil .570
• USA .408

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• Thus is born a poster child