Chile and the neo-liberal experience

dublin | worker & community struggles and protests | event notice Wednesday November 17, 2004 02:05 by Workers Solidarity Movement wsm_ireland at yahoo dot com P.O. Box 1528, Dublin 8

"The Chilean economy: Neo-liberalism, Imperialism and the Poor"

Talk given by Chilean economist Orlando Caputo

Over the last 30 years, since Pinochet dictatorship, Chile has been subjected to all sorts of economic experiments by the gang of "Chicago Boys" (economics students from that university) that ruled the country hand in hand with the military. It became an actual laboratory for neo-liberal policies. These policies have affected the standard of life of the working class dramatically, transforming the country to one of the most unequal in the whole world (it's now the 7th worst).

In this process the hand of US imperialism hasn't been absent, having an active role in shaping our country into the interest of an ever narrower local ruling class, and of the US big businesses who rule the fruit business, the copper mines and many other resources of a primary-exporting economy.

The Chilean example becomes a paradigm for the New World Order. The process of impoverishment of the Chilean working class and the progressive reduction in the limits of democracy are global trends.

Meeting: WSM office -5 Merrion Row (off St Stephen's Green), ring the "Latin American Solidarity Centre" bell.

Speaker:
Orlando Caputo Leiva, Chilean Economist, currently an academic in UNAM (Autonomous National University of Mexico), member of CLACSO (Latin American Council for Social Sciences) and ex-member of CODELCO council (Chilean National Copper Mining Company) under the Unidad Popular Government (1970-1973).

Tuesday, 23rd November, 8pm

Hosted by the Workers Solidarity Movement