Monday, December 20, 2021

Michael Roberts — Chile: copper-bottomed?

The victory of Boric could open up a new chapter is Chile’s political economy. Indeed, there are huge opportunities for the Chilean economy to increase investment and diversify the economy. The IMF finds that even under the previous regimes there has been some development in non-mineral and technology exports. This must be the way for Chile to go.

So will Boric revive the socialist experiment began by Salvador Allende in the early 1970s? So far, that seems unlikely, as Boric’s program is moderate by those standards; with no plans to socialise the economy, but merely to try and redistribute the largesse appropriated by capital somewhat more evenly. The multi-nationals and the forces of the reactionary right-wing in the Chilean business sector, Congress and the media are gearing up for an incessant campaign of attack against the new President....
Detailed analysis of the Chilean economy and neoliberal economic policy since Pinochet. Can the incoming leftist president turn it around? Michael Roberts cautions that this will be difficult with the electorate almost equally divided between left and right.

This division is similar to the US but only superficially in that Chile has a real left and the US does not. Even though the US is a center right country, its political leadership still cannot come to compromise on issues of pressing public purpose.

Michael Roberts Blog — blogging from a marxist economist
Chile: copper-bottomed?
Michael Roberts
https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2021/12/20/chile-copper-bottomed/

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