Sorry Ricky

You may recall that a couple of months ago America's Quarterly published a review I wrote of Ricardo Lagos' new book, Southern Tiger. You can reread it here.

Now the Economist has put out its own review, and it is probably even harsher than mine. In both cases, we find that the book, as a memoir, is very light on details. It is not really a memoir, but a kind of review of recent Chilean history and the very important role that Lagos played in it.

All in all it seems like a missed opportunity. What a shame.

More on The Economist's view of the Piñera government

I don't know why Chileans care so much about what the rest of the world thinks about them, but somehow when The Economist says what everyone else in Chile is thinking, it's a big deal.

So here's my latest column on what The Economist says.

Foreign Affairs interviews Christopher Sabatini

Here is Chris Sabatini's incisive criticism of American policy in Latin America.

The Economist slams Chile, again

The Chilean model is, presumably, a model because a) other countries have decided to model themselves after it (some countries, like Russia, have attempted to copy Chile's private pension system, for example) and b) because international business and policy elites have decided that there was something in the Chilean case to be emulated.


The Economist -- a fairly good barometer of these elites -- has for some time been wary of where the Chilean model was going, and this week devotes a long essay to the current state of things. And it ain't pretty.


There are lots of interesting data in the piece, but I suspect that what it comes down to is Carlos Peña's final quote -- it's a crisis of expectations. 


I have long felt that the Chilean model was built on a kind of Chilean Dream, analogous to the American Dream, where the citizen-consumer accepted a kind of Faustian pact of neoliberalism in exchange for improving living standards. When Peña speaks of a crisis of expectations, he is referring to how Chileans perceive those standards of living. It is no longer enough to have a fridge or a flat screen TV, if you feel the cable company is ripping you off. It is not enough to get a university degree if your family goes into debt for years to fund a degree which will not offer much in terms of employment.


That's the current model, and The Economist doesn't seem so eager to have others emulate it.

Kayaking in Chile

Ok, so this post is not about politics. But this short film is very beautiful, and shows Chile at its best (I'm afraid many of my posts do quite the contrary). And apparently it won some prize for Best Short Film of 2012.

Enjoy.

Alcohol, Aysen and Zamudio: No enforcement

The recent implementation of new and draconian blood alcohol levels is, on the one hand, a sign that, as far as personal conduct and public safety, Chile is making efforts to move into the 21st century. However, as my column published today in La Segunda points out, there are many laws on the books which are barely enforced at all. It is illegal to ride one's bicycle on the highway, but people do it all the time.

So reducing the legal blood alcohol limit will be meaningless unless it is properly enforced.

So far, it must be said, at least the people I know are observing the new law. Social gatherings have got much more boring, either because people aren't drinking, or they are leaving early in order to catch a cab.

Underdevelopment had its privileges.

Money and Politics

Today in Chile is is practically impossible to know who is financing whom in politics. For this reason a group of (mostly) prominent academics and politicians are circulating a petition demanding that the laws governing campaign and party financing be modernized, allowing for greater transparency.

If you live in Chile and wish to sign, here's the link.

FINANCIAMIENTO DE LA POLITICA EN CHILE  

En Chile, los vínculos del dinero y el poder económico con el poder político constituyen una amenaza para la creación de políticas públicas que promuevan el interés general. La legislación actual es insuficiente para evitar que intereses particulares presionen a la autoridad ejecutiva y legislativa, a través de donaciones a campañas políticas, lobby sin regulación, financiamiento de los partidos, y conflictos de interés de las propias autoridades. 

Es urgente transparentar más y mejor la relación entre política y dinero en Chile. En la actualidad no conocemos quienes financian las campañas electorales ni los partidos políticos, por lo cual la ciudadanía no tiene información para evaluar si sus representantes son cooptados por grupos de interés o actúan promoviendo el bien común. 

Es urgente transparentar quiénes financian las campañas y los partidos. Como quienes votan son los ciudadanos, los financistas privados de la política deben ser exclusivamente personas naturales. El Estado debe proveer un financiamiento público transparente y auditable. 

Los abajo firmantes solicitamos al Gobierno y al Congreso Nacional que en materia de reformas políticas se incluya el financiamiento de la política como un eje primordial para fortalecer la confianza de los ciudadanos con nuestras autoridades. 

Concretamente, proponemos: 

1.- Aprobar una ley que regule, sin excepción, a todos aquellos que representan intereses privados frente a los poderes públicos, registrando las reuniones que realizan las autoridades con grupos de interés. 

2.- Transparentar absolutamente los orígenes del dinero privado que financia las campañas electorales, permitiendo que la ciudadanía pueda conocer esos orígenes y exigiendo que las autoridades se inhabiliten de participar en el proceso de toma de decisiones cuando exista un conflicto de interés por este motivo. 

3.- Aumentar de manera importante el financiamiento público de los partidos y campañas políticas, de manera transparente, con auditorias que impidan el uso de los fondos públicos por parte del gobierno para favorecer a candidatos y partidos de su coalición. 

4.- Crear una institución autónoma, a similitud de lo que hoy es el Consejo para la Transparencia, que cuente con los recursos y atribuciones necesarias para fiscalizar el cumplimiento de la ley y monitorear los gastos durante las campañas. 

5.- Introducir multas y penalidades más altas y efectivas para quienes debiendo declarar su patrimonio o conflictos de interés, no lo hagan y reglas más comprensivas y detalladas para alcanzar la máxima claridad y transparencia en ellas. Lo mismo para candidatos que vulneren la ley en materia de topes al gasto electoral, u origen de los aportes a sus campañas. 

Sin una reforma profunda en materia de financiamiento de la política y regulación del lobby, nuestras políticas públicas seguirán debilitándose, y aumentará el rechazo de la ciudadanía hacia las instituciones y el poder político. 

FIRMAN:Ximena Abogabir, Manuel Agosín, Claudio Agostini, Matías Asún Hamel, Pepe Auth, Mariana Aylwin, Jaime Baeza, Cristóbal Bellolio, José Miguel Benavente, Eduardo Bitrán, Vivianne Blanlot, Jorge Bofill, Sebastián Bowen, José Joaquín Brunner, Álvaro Bustos, Edmundo Bustos, Víctor Caro, Pamela Caro, Lidia Casas, Jaime Casassus, Luis Felipe Céspedes, Dante Contreras, Jorge Correa, Jaime Couso, Javier Couso, Miguel Crispi, Genaro Cuadros, Fernando Dazarola, Gabriel De La Fuente, Gloria De La Fuente, Juan Carlos Délano, Antonio Delfau, Alejandro del Pino, Adriana Delpiano, Francisco Díaz, Marcelo Díaz, Norberto Díaz, Eduardo Dockendorf, Jorge Dominguez, Nicolás Dormal, Marcelo Drago, Mauricio Duce, Rodrigo Echecopar, Gregory Elacqua, Álvaro Elizalde, Eduardo Engel, Luis Eduardo Escobar, Cristina Escudero, Alejandro Ferreiro, Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, Claudio Fuentes, Robert Funk, Eugenio Figueroa, Francisco Gallego, Cristóbal García, Ana María Gazmuri, Pedro Glatz, Andrés Gómez-Lobo, Nicolás Grau, Davor Harasic, Felipe Heusser, Daniel Hojman, Carlos Huneeus, Cristóbal Huneeus, Federico Huneeus, Sebastián Iglesias Sichel, Giorgio Jackson, Alfredo Joignant, Ricardo Lagos-Weber, Oscar Landerretche, Fernando Larraín, Guillermo Larraín, Sara Larraín, Hugo Lavados, Diego Luna, Francisca Márquez, Jorge Marshall, Pablo Marshall, Patricio Meller, Alejandro Micco, Sergio Micco, Davor Mimica, Alejandra Mizala, Jorge Navarrete, Patricio Navia, Marco Antonio Núñez, Claudio Orrego, Ernesto Ottone, Sebastián Pavlovic, Guillermo Pickering, Patricia Politzer, Karen Poniachik, Carlos Portales, Andrea Repetto, Marcela Ríos, Jorge Rivera, Ximena Rincón, Patricio Rodrigo, Pilar Romaguera, Andrés Romero, Fulvio Rossi, Guillermo Scallan, Ricardo Solari, Juan José Soto, Agustín Squella, José Tessada, Carolina Tohá, Marcelo Tokman, Juan Pablo Torres-Martínez, Juan Trimboli, Teresa Valdez, Juan Enrique Vargas, Andrés Velasco, Eugenio Vergara, Mario Waissbluth, Andrés Zahler, Roberto Zahler, José Zalaquett.