Letters
Chile My compliments to Duncan Green ["The First Latin American Tiger?" July/August, 1994] for an excellent analysis of the Chilean economic process. Chile's program of "economic stability...
...That the present model is socially and environmentally unsustainable seems obvious, yet Chile is being marketed as an economic standard for Latin America to emulate...
...In this context, the need for viable alternatives is all the more urgent...
...Whether or not you agree with a far-left viewpoint, I would appreciate your covering its activities as well as the goings-on of the reformists...
...governments, as well as the European Union, for a number of imaginative programs...
...Little mention was made, however, of the work that many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have undertaken to address the pain that these children suffer at the hands of adults...
...Green rightly points to the change in community life, values and relationships among Chileans, and how money has taken priority over human relations...
...Chile's program of "economic stability in the transition to democracy" has meant continuity with Pinochet's economic policies, at great cost to most poor Chileans...
...Our offices in London and New York have managed to secure funds from the British and U.S...
...Bob Kutchko Merriam, KS...
...Bill Jordan Maryknoll Missioners Colbun, Chile Children Y our report, "Disposable Children" [May/June 1994], was important since for many years the scary and scandalous way many children in Latin America are treated has been ignored...
...As a Catholic lay missioner journalist living and working in southern Chile amongst peasant communities, I have seen the effects of this phenomenon firsthand...
...Even here in fair London, we don't have to look far to find our own "disposable children...
...It seems, on the surface, that the sense of solidarity that blossomed during the most difficult years of the dictatorship has been replaced by a self-centered consumerist mentality...
...Alternatives to this economic model need to emerge to tap levels of Chilean identity where human solidarity and ecological sustainability, as variables in economic decisions, take greater precedence over individualistic values...
...Nicolas Fenton Director, Child Hope London, England The Far Left appreciate the information you provide, but have been disappointed with your slide towards liberalism and away from a revolutionary viewpoint...
...Child Hope, for example, with offices in Guatemala and Rio de Janeiro, sponsors a number of programs that give many children new hope for the future...
...It is also important to point out that the picture you painted of children in Latin America is mirrored in many of the countries of Africa, Southeast Asia, India, and Central and Eastern Europe...
...Of course, our work is the proverbial drop in the ocean, but every drop is a human being...
...It is almost as if the Dickensian scenes of Victorian London have been exported through time and space, but in an even more exaggerated fashion...
...Over the years, your coverage has come to neglect the far Left in favor of reformist "left" electoral formations...
Vol. 28 • November 1994 • No. 3
