Piñera Surrenders, Will Accept New Chile Constitution
A new constitution is not only the beginning of the end for Piñera’s center-right government, but it is also the end of Chile as we know it While the socialist Evo Morales resigned as president of Bolivia, the Chilean government, through its Home Affairs Minister, announced that the process of creating a “constituent congress” had begun. In other words, politicians in the Chilean Congress have to draft a new constitution that is in line with current times and generate the “social pact” that the people…
Myths and Truths of Inequality in Chile: To What Extent this explains the outbursts shaking this advanced country
The profound differences between the upper tiers and the rest of the population are presented as the unique cause of the phenomenal crisis that the country has been experiencing for the past three weeks. However, the statistics show a contradictory reality, which does not stand up to simplistic explanations. After the deep economic reforms implemented during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, and since deepened since the return of democracy in 1990, Chile became a paradigm. For free-market advocates, it…
Don’t Slay the Chilean Puma
A rewrite of the constitution would destroy the opportunity for the poor. When Chilean President Sebastián Piñera cancelled plans to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago this month, he called it “a difficult decision that has caused us a lot of pain.” The pain for Latin America’s most successful economy is only beginning. Negotiations with terrorists and their political representatives seldom end well. Yet that’s what Mr Piñera seems to have in mind. He has opened the door…
Chiles stunning wealth, but poor services behind massive protests
The decision to add 30 pesos to the cost of a ticket on Latin America’s most modern public transportation system this month drew little attention inside or outside Chile, at first. People quietly fumed. A week later, high-school students launched four days of turnstile-jumping protests. Crowds of angry youths built up inside metro stations. It’s not about a 4-cent hike in subway prices With no warning, on the afternoon of Oct. 18, they set fire to stations, then trains. Then grocery, department…
