http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=19263
Ask For Wisdom From Chile!
24/12/2009
By Ali Ibrahim
Ali Ibrahim
Ali Ibrahim is Asharq Al-Awsat's Managing Editor, based in London.
The news is Chile is about to join the club of rich nations, and it has been
invited to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation Development [OECD]
which brings together 30 affluent nations. Chile will be the first Latin
American country to join this organization, and the first country to join in a
generation, transforming Chile from a developing country into a developed
country.
There have been many international successes during the seventies and eighties,
particularly in Asia, with tiger economies such as South Korea, Taiwan, and
Singapore joining the list [of rich countries], and of course there is China
which has become an economic superpower. However Latin America is a region that
has been out of mind, this may be due to its geographical distance or its
turbulent history, which some [people] are still bogged down by.
The question is; how did this happen?
For Chile is connected in one's mind wit tales of unrest and bloody violence
such as the death of its socialist president [Salvador] Allende in the
seventies during the height of the Cold War, as well as General [Augusto]
Pinochet's coup which plunged the country into long years of dictatorship.
Pinochet was pursued during the last days of his life whilst he was on his
sickbed for ordering the death and torture of dissidents [whilst he was in
power].
The figures speak for themselves, Chile is a medium-sized country with a
population of 17 million, and its economy - according to published
international statistics - is also medium-sized in line with its population.
Chile's Gross Domestic Product [GDP] stood at 169 billion dollars in 2008, and
the country has purchasing power of 245 billion dollars, with an average GDP
per capita of 15,000 dollars. Chile's exports amount to around 60 billion
dollars a year. In 2008 the government budget was 44 billion dollars, with the
country utilizing 35 billion dollars.
However what qualifies Chile to join the OECD is not just these [economic]
figures, for there has been a genuine change in people's lives and standard of
living in Chile and this is the real test of progress. The percentage of
citizens living below the poverty line has decreased from 45 percent during
Pinochet's rule to 18 percent today, and Chile's annual growth rate was the
highest in Latin America, particularly following the end of the Pinochet era
and the emergence of a stable democracy governed by a coalition of [political]
parties in the nineties. The middle class is expanding and there is a continual
improvement in the standard of living, with unemployment rates today standing
at less than 9 percent.
Chile's economic map reflects similar [economic] diversity as seen in developed
countries, with the manufacturing industry contributing to more than 50 percent
of the country's GDP, whilst a quarter of its workforce is employed in this
sector. 13 percent of Chile's workforce is employed in the agricultural
industry, and the rest work in the services industry. The paradox is that
despite the hateful practices of the infamous dictator General Pinochet which
made him an international pariah threatened with [international] prosecution
during his final days, he also instituted economic reforms that led to the
current [economic] developments, including privatization and market freedom.
Perhaps the most important lesson is that the public should not remain hostages
of the past, but should [instead] look to and build for the future, building
upon the useful practices of the past.
So from Latin America to the Arab world there is a question that requires
answering; if there is a possibility of starting from anew and overcoming poor
circumstances and dictatorship [like Chile], then what is the problem of this
region [the Arab world] that is preceded by south-east Asia, and today
countries from regions that have experienced unrest such as Chile in Latin
America?
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