The Aftermath of Chile’s Election

Juan Carlos Hidalgo Chile went to the polls yesterday in what was perhaps the most important presidential election since the return of democracy in 1990. Many foreign observers focused on the curiosity that the two leading candidates were both daughters of Air Force generals who chose opposing sides during the military coup that toppled socialist president Salvador Allende in 1973. But what is at stake in this election wasn’t Chile’s past, but its future. Let’s first recapitulate where Chile stands today: Thanks to the free market reforms implemented since 1975 by the military government of Augusto Pinochet – that were subsequently deepened by the democratic center-left governments that ruled the country since 1990 – Chile can boast the following accomplishments: It’s the freest economy in Latin America and it stands 11th in the world (ahead of the United States) in the Economic Freedom of the World report. It has more than tripled its income per capita since 1990 to $19,100 (PPP), which is the highest in Latin America. According to the IMF, by 2017 Chile will reach an income per capita of $23,800, which is the official threshold to become a developed country. According to the UN Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Chile has the most impressive poverty reduction record in Latin America in the last two decades. The poverty rate went down from 45% in the mid-1980s to 11% in 2011, the lowest in the region. It has the strongest democratic...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs