Chile tells PM 'we saved for now'

Chile's president has told Gordon Brown how her country "saved in the good times" in order to spend in the bad.

Michelle Bachelet's comments came at a joint news conference as the UK prime minister was in Chile as part of a pre-G20 summit support-building trip.

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Our correspondent said Mr Brown, who is the first UK prime minister to visit Chile, is a particular admirer of Ms Bachelet, who has spent much of her country's copper wealth on relieving poverty, investing in public services and improving education.

They need to get completely away from that rot Pinochet installed with the "Boys from Chicago." She has been a gracious, intelligent, civilized leader.

derives from their copper deposits.

I may have mentioned before that the issues in Chile early 70's which came about as a result of Allende's intention of nationaising the copper mines were partly driven by ITT , who at the time were the world's biggest consumers of copper for their cables, threatening to withdraw support to the Repuke party unless the USA took action.

:hi:

The only part I knew about it was the American-based Anaconda Copper Mine, Chuquicamata, the world's largest copper mine.

http://www.images-du-monde.com.nyud.net:8090/images/Chili%20-%20Mine%20de%20cuivre%20de%20Chuquicamata.jpg

I just couldn't get a handle on ITT. Very interesting.

Republicans are the greedy, selfish oafs, sociopaths, and criminally insane among us. They don't know they're actually expected to share the world with others. They think it's all here for their taking.

Last night she hosted a candle-light dinner for Biden in La Moneda. It was part of the Earth Hour lights-out in Chile. Photo below is from El Mercurio front page, could not find a better photo. Halfway down on the left.


http://www.mer.cl/modulos/catalogo/Paginas/2009/03/29/MERSTPP001AA2903.htm

Just two months ago, Bachelet was meeting with Fidel Castro in Havana. Today it was confirmed that she will have a private meeting with Obama next month in Trinidad & Tobago. Obama is about to get a lesson on contempory Latam from her.

Judi, ITT during the time of Allende controlled the Chilean telephone company and it was a matter of time before nationalization. It was common knowledge in Santiago at the time that ITT was funneling money to El Mercurio (owned by the anti-allende Edwards family) for its campaign to undermine the Unidad Popular. There were also rumors that ITT was financing the right-wing truckers' union to paralyze commerce the length of the country but I never saw any confirmation (the rumor was that ITT was getting CIA funds.)

I went to Chuqui one time. The Chilean say it is the biggest hole in the ground the gringos have ever left anywhere on the planet. After the coup, the price of copper was around 68 cents (U.S.) a pound. It was costing more to produce than the international selling price. Last time I looked, it is now around three dollars a pound, so that explains why Chile is in good shape now during the global crisis.

Chile produces about 1.7 million metric tons of copper and most of it goes to China, India and other developing countries. Chile no longer depends on the U.S. being it's principal market like it did when Kennecott ran Chuqui.

That's a cool device they have on the left side of "El Mercurio," which allows the reader to enlarge the photos. Very cool. Apparently a lot of US dollars went into refinements like that at "El Mercurio" during Nixon's Presidency. Agustín Edwards really got lucky from his political ties.

Biden does look as if he gets along well with the people there. Hope he made some friends, and learned something at the same time.

(By the way, I got the video from Argentina, but still haven't seen it since we got a new tv and haven't hooked it up to the DVD thing yet. Looking forward so much to the opportunity to see the story of a woman discovering what was happening during the Argentinian military junta. I see the film was celebrated and given top honors all over the world. Thanks for the recommendation.

Interesting that what the entire world knows, and condemns with utter abhorance about these right-wing barbarities is all ignored, and secretly defended by our own right-wing. That immediately tells you all you need to know about the U.S. right-wing.)

of Repuke funding preceeding the 9/11 coup. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,944655,00.html
and http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a051371ittdeal

Pinochet later sold a percentage of the mines off, but kept at least 60% (IIRC), which helped stave off Chile's own mini debt crisis in the early 1980s. Several South American economists of the era pointed to the copper mines as being the biggest reason why Chile didn't default, as it was one of the few steady sources of income for the state.

51% had already been nationalised. It was Allende's doing the same , outright rather than staged , to the remaining 49% , without compansation , which encouraged the USA to intervene on the basis "This serious infraction to international practice can cause damage not only to Chile, but to all other developing countries". Once "installed" Pinochet concluded that privatising them again could lead to a revolt so he left the situation be.

Details here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_nationalization_of_copper

the Bushwhack Financial 9/11, due to good leftist policy and good government--and, critically important, due to their rejection of U.S./corporate "neoliberal" and World Bank/IMF policy and advice. Argentina climbed out of total ruination by the World Bank/IMF, reversed course, got help from Venezuela, paid off its debt, and has been well on the road to recovery over the last decade. Venezuela has done the opposite of U.S. policy in every way--it has acquired control of its major resource, oil, and a 60/40 split of the oil profits, and has been using the money to quickly bootstrap the poor, boost small business, initiate land reform (for food security), and create infrastructure and local manufacturing, while saving $42 billion in international cash reserves against a "rainy day." That money would otherwise be in Exxon Mobil's bloated coffers, doing no one any good. It gives Venezuela a good cushion against Bushwhack "shock and awe" economics. Brazil--headed by a center-left president, and close ally of the leftists in Venezuela and other countries--has also done well, by spending money on the poor, and on regional development projects (to help the poorest countries, such as Bolivia and Paraguay), and by rejecting the cruelty and looting of U.S./European economic advisers. Bolivia, under leftist Evo Morales, has doubled its gas revenues to $2 billion per year, and has thus been able to provide a pension for the poorest elderly and to initiate educational, medical, resource development and land reform projects, and has also weathered a full on Bushwhack fascist coup attempt.

I'm glad to hear that Chile has also be blessed with good government. Batchelet has been an increasingly strong ally of Chavez as well--something I only recently learned. Apparently, she told Condi Rice to stop demonizing Chavez. I was guided by a previous action of Batchelet--back in 2006, she seemed to cave to U.S./Bushwhack pressure on Venezuela taking its rightful turn on the UN Security Council. Chile didn't vote against it; they abstained, but the effect was the same, to deny Venezuela its seat. But things have changed. Batchelet was a key player in fending off the U.S./Bushwhack fascist coup plot in Bolivia, and I don't know when she talked to Condi about Chavez, but it seems that Batchelet has sought more and more solidarity with Bushwhack targets--the strongest leftists and best governments in South America. Why this is important in an economic discussion is that Venezuela is the leader in declaring its sovereign independence from U.S. dictation, and U.S. dictation always has to do with enriching the rich, and further impoverishing the poor, always at the expense of good policy, and to the detriment of most South Americans. What this means is that Batchelet, who was already a socialist--but a more "centrist" one--is moving more to the left, and this is paying off as to Chile's economy.

Help the poor, and the country will prosper. Help the rich, and watch your country die.