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| Criminal Records: Augusto José Ramón
Pinochet Ugarte Imperialism Ronald Reagan |
M. Benjamin, 18
August 2004
Why
Hugo Chávez won a landslide victory
Go to the barrios of Caracas, and it becomes obvious
why the recall effort against Hugo Chavez failed: providing people with free health care,
education, small business loans and job training is a good way to win the hearts and minds
of the people. |
The Economist, 12
August 2004:
The Latinobarómetro poll
Democracy's low-level equilibrium
Latin Americans believe their democracies benefit a
privileged few, not the many-but they don't want a return to dictatorship |
From The Economist:
Country briefings: CHILE
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Chile: Low-intensity democracy
Despite its economic stability and the substantial
improvements that the Government has achieved in the rates of poverty and education, 52%
of Chileans “feel they are losing out, and 74% have negative feelings about the
country’s economic system”. This is no paradox, since according to the World
Bank, Chile is among the 15 countries with the worst income distribution in the world.
Things are not much better in politics, where the principle of “one person, one
vote” is not viable in the “protected democracy” inherited from the
military dictatorship. Centro de Estudios de la Mujer (CEM) Solidaridad y Organización
Local (SOL) Programa de Ciudadanía y Gestión Local Fundación de Superación de la
Pobreza ACTIVA Ana María Arteaga / Carlos Ochsenius, 2004
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Chile: The brutal rationale of
privatisation
. «Beyond euphemisms, privatisation of health, social
security and education operated by neo-liberals has imposed a brutal rationale: depending
on the amount of money you have, you will have so much health care, quality of education
for your children and pension upon retirement. If you are privileged, you will have access
to privileged services. If you are poor, you will have to make do with what the public
system is able to give you.» ANA MARÍA ARTEAGA. 2003.
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Chile: growth without equity
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Chile
shows paradoxical characteristics. While Chile is being touted as a champion of economic
liberalisation, the country is finding that the free trade measures adopted are not
reactivating its economy or reducing the persistent and high unemployment rate and the
serious and prevailing inequality. The private sector is not receptive to monetary and tax
incentives, and the old government is financing thousands of emergency jobs, an
intervention that reminds us of the hardest times of the 1980s. C. Pey, D. Donoso and L.
Arellano. 2002
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Chile: Stagnant and
disenchanted
In 2000, the countries of the region were strongly
affected by a variety of problems: the political crisis in Peru; sharp social unrest in
Bolivia, which literally paralyzed the country; and the strong financial, political,
ethical and social crisis affecting Argentina. In this company, Chile appears to be an
exception, demonstrating a “healthy economy” and political stability. L.
Arellano, D. Donoso and C. Pey.2001
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Chile: precarious progress
...«having created an efficient system for
controlling movements of capital.»... The weight and presence of transnational capital in
the Chilean economy has kept growing, however, and the decisions and interests of those
who control this capital are becoming more powerful in determining not only the economic,
but also the social, political and cultural structure and dynamics of Chile. D. Donoso, M.
Hidalgo and O. Torres. 2000.
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Chile: Inequality. The latest data
The nineties show no reduction of social inequality in
the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The region maintains growth rates of
greater than 5% per year but this is not reflected in a reduction of inequality. High and
sustained economic growth has not assured greater social equity. On the contrary, economic
processes have increased income concentration. (United Nations, ECLAC, «The Equity Gap.
Latin America and the Caribbean in the Social Summit» ). The Chilean economy is
characterised by high and sustained growth rates. In the last decade, it has shown the
enduring nature of income concentration in the hands of the rich and a tendency towards
regression in income distribution. .. X. Valdés. 1998
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Chile: Economic growth and poverty
The economic growth sustained in Chile over the last
ten years requires a detailed analysis to ascertain the directions taken by the Chilean
economy and society in the nineties. The figures which have been published lately in the
CASEN Survey1 carried out in November 1994, show the tendencies with which this huge
economic growth has been distributed within society. Four main conclusions can be derived
from these facts:... X. Valdés, T. Valdés and J. Bengoa. 1997
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Róbinson Rojas,
1997
15 years of monetarism in Latin America: time to scream
For the majority of countries in Latin America the new
gospel of 'free-market plus non-intervention of the state in economic affairs' began to be
standard economic policy in the early eighties. For Chile, though, the new gospel was
inaugurated earlier, in 1974, and the military junta in charge of imposing it did that via
murdering, torturing, imprisoning, and exiling score of thousands of workers, peasants and
intellectuals who tried to oppose the implementation of yet another variety of
"savage capitalism". For those who praise savage capitalism, Chile is an
"economic miracle" and the rest of the Latin American nations are
"deregulating", "rolling back" and "liberalizing" to become
the "miracles" following the one created by the murderous Chilean military
junta. |
Róbinson Rojas,
1997
The Chilean way to socialism. Popular Unity
In 1970, before the presidential election, the income
differentials for the urban population ( 75 % of the population), were as follows (taking
average income of blue-collar workers as one): Employers 40.0, High rank civil servants
20.8, White-collar workers 3.3, Blue-collar workers 1.0, (Source: R.Rojas, "La Unidad
Popular, Hacia donde?", 1973)... By 1970, a large sector of the Chilean population
was openly advocating a revolution. The prevailing revolutionary ideology was one based in
the enormous economic power of the "mobilising state". This ideology posed the
strategy of "making the revolution from inside the state", gaining the
government, that is. That was the basis for the political programme presented by the
Popular Unity (Unidad Popular) for the presidential elections in 1970... |
S. B. Crofts Wiley,
1997
Becoming Modern: Capitalism, Agency and the Left in Neoliberal
Chile
In Chile, a significant segment of the left has moved into the state and finds itself
co-governing one of the most radically capitalist societies in Latin America. |
Pilar Vergara,
1996
Structural adjustment in Chile
Over the past decade, the social reforms carried out by the Chilean military regime have
been celebrated as a model for other Latin American countries anxious to overcome the
endemic crises of their social-security systems. The policies introduced by the Aylwin and
Frei governments to reduce poverty levels within the free-market system, and the initial
success of those efforts, reinforced the belief that Chile was a viable model for other
countries engaging in social reform. Little attention has been paid, however, to the way
the Concertacion governments' redistributive efforts have been hampered by the new social
institutions established by the Pinochet regime. An examination of the successes and
limitations of Chile's social policy reveals how neoliberal social reforms have
fundamentally restricted the scope and impact of the Concertacion's attempts to achieve
"growth with equity." |
Chile:
The Popular Unity's Programme (A case of Alternative Development)
This programme, in 1970, represented an alternative way for development, based on ECONOMIC
GROWTH WITH EQUAL ACCESS TO ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT WITH EQUAL ACCESS TO
POLITICAL RESOURCES for the Chilean population. Students of development should take a deep
look at this text, because today, thirty years after the murderers led by the White
House and the Chilean generals killed Salvador Allende, still is a valid and consistent
"programme for sustainable development" alternative to the capitalist model
which exclude a large portion of society from the fruits of economic growth, and which
also unleashes environmental destruction and "unhuman" development. (Róbinson
Rojas, 2003) |
Salvador Allende
Speech to the UN General Assembly, 4th Dec. 1972
Salvador Allende's speech is a historical document
which scholars should read when trying to understand what kind of reality is faced by
societies struggling for development in a context where national strategies are brutally
constrained by "international forces". These forces being grouped under banners
like "defense of the democratic system" during the Cold War, or "market
forces"/ "globalization" in the post-Cold War era. In this excerpts of
Salvador Allende's speech the "international forces" are very well
individualized...there is no difference between those forces in 1972 and now, in the
1990s... (Robinson Rojas, 1998) |
Hunger
strike ended on 06/09/03
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Noam Chomsky:
solidarity with the Hunger Strike
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Children of the Disappeared and
Murdered by the Pinochet Dictatorship Declare an Indefinite Hunger Strike on 18 August
2003
WE DON'T ACCEPT NOR WILL WE EVER
ACCEPT IMPUNITY
To the public:
Almost 30 years since the military coup, the Right, the Concertación Government and the
high command of the Armed Forces, have pulled together a historic political agreement that
intends to perpetuate impunity in our country.
None of the points of the plan presented by the Government, today applauded by the
assassins, allow for advancing down the road of justice in our nation. What's worse, it
offers alternatives to those who participated in these crimes, allowing them to receive
complete immunity in exchange for information and the reduction of sentences for those who
are already indicted for their participation in these crimes.
We think that this is one more insult, just like the Human Rights Roundtable (Mesa de
Dialogo), to those judges who today are honestly carrying out their functions, to the
families, and to society as a whole.
In Chile, the vast majority of those responsible for murders, torture, and the
disappearances committed during the Dictatorship, are walking free on the streets or are
detained in luxurious centers provided by the Army.
We appreciate the efforts of some Ad Hoc Judges and other judges who are handling human
rights cases. Nonetheless, we think this is insufficient, because the courts need a
greater number of judges dedicated to these cases and more resources to investigate.
We think that the country, together with repudiating the bloody acts that many Chileans
lived through, should sanction, both socially and legally, all of those who participated
in these crimes, even if they were accomplices or helped cover up the crimes. This is the
only way that our children and future generations will be able to live in peace knowing
that in Chile, no political or military official will ever again commit the wrongs that we
have so unjustly been forced to live through.
We are tired of lies, promises, and false hopes. Conscious of the fact that there is no
possible reparation because nothing can ever bring back our families or Chile's lost
compatriots, we declare an indefinite Hunger Strike so that our country and the world
knows that, in Chile, the political authorities have refused to recognize these crimes as
crimes against humanity, meaning that they cannot be amnestied nor can they benefit from
statutes of limitations; to do so is in violation of all international treaties that have
come into existence since the Second World War.
We call upon all those people and social organizations that wish to live in a just and
democratic nation to publicly express their support and speak out for justice. The
families are willing to continue fighting and we will not end this Hunger Strike until we
see some advance towards justice in Chile. But this task is that of everyone; today more
than ever, silence is on the side of impunity.
THIS IS WHY WE ARE ALIVE; NO FORGIVENESS, NO FORGETTING
We need your solidarity and support. Your solidarity is critical. Until the last criminal
pays.
Support messages can be sent to:
huelgalucianocarrasco@correo.nodo50.org
Alexandra Benado; Iván Carrasco; Natalia Chanfreau; Yuri Gahona; Fahra Nehgme; Juan José
Parada; Michelle Retamal; Alberto Rodríguez; Daniela Taberna; Carolina Valdés; Bárbara
Vergara; Pablo Villagra; Eduardo Ziede
Huelga Luciano Carrasco
Place: Compańía # 2404
Contact telephones:
Fasting group: (56-2) 672.98.97
Natalia Chanfreau: 09-219.45.99
Yuri Gahona: 09-886.86.56
|
S. Kangas:
The Chicago boys and the "Chilean economic miracle"
|
| O. Letelier:
Chile: economic
'freedom' and political repression |
Andre Gunder Frank
Economic Genocide in Chile. Monetarist Theory versus Humanity |
| K. Coughlan:
The dark side of
Chile's economic miracle. 1992 |
A. Hejslet:
The Chilean
Experience 1974-1998
|
| C. Schneider:
Chile: the
underside of the miracle |
| Washington
Post: Chile |
| CIA World Factbook 1997:
Chile |
| The World Bank: Chile |
Interamerican Development Bank
Chile: as seen by the IADB
|
| Chile Sustentable (Sustainable Chile) |
Urgent message from Cuba:
Dreams and nightmares |
| UNESCO: Chile |
| R.Rojas: Dependent capitalist development:
Chile(1960s)(notes) |
| S. Larrain: Chilean Ecological Action Network |
| Chilean Ecological Action
Network (RENACE) |
J. Jontz : Chile, forests, investments and NAFTA
Chile Sustentable (Sustainable Chile)
__________________
Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago
Bolsa Electronica de Chile
Camara Nacional de Comercio de Chile
Chilean-American Chamber of Commerce
Chile Electronic Yellow Pages |
Universidad de Chile: Centro de Economía Aplicada
Working papers 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
Export Promotion Bureau of Chile [Prochile]
Trade Data [U.S.A.I.D.]
Chile Business Guide 1996/97
Chile Trade and Investment Guide
Foreign Direct Investments 1974-1996
|
Official statistics
Banco Central de Chile-Central Bank of Chile
Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas -Agosto 1998
(National Institute of Statistics -August 1998)
Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas
|
| Business News Americas |
M. Benjamin, 18
August 2004
Why
Hugo Chávez won a landslide victory
Go to the barrios of Caracas, and it becomes obvious
why the recall effort against Hugo Chavez failed: providing people with free health care,
education, small business loans and job training is a good way to win the hearts and minds
of the people. |
Chavez wins
Venezuela's Chavez Triumphant: History Making Democracy in Latin America
Sharmini Peries
Monday, Aug 16
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, first elected in 1998 made democratic history today in
a triumphant defeat of the recall referendum on his Presidency, winning with a solid 58%
of the vote
--
Robin Nieto - Venezuelanalysis.com --16 August 2004
Thousands Gather Outside Venezuelan Presidential Palace for Chavez
Victory
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Interview with Tariq Ali. Venezuela: Changing the World by Taking Power
By Claudia Jardim and Jonah Gindin
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The Economist, 12
August 2004:
The Latinobarómetro poll
Democracy's low-level equilibrium
Latin Americans believe their democracies benefit a
privileged few, not the many-but they don't want a return to dictatorship
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