Report on Chile
ALEXANDER, ROBERT J.
The people are looking forward to a new President who will cope with the country's economic problems Report on Chile By Robert J. Alexander A narrow strip of land running 3,000 miles down the...
...Indeed, most people consider his government an even greater failure than the 13 previous years of leftist rule...
...This will alienate many independent rightists who don't like Frei or their own party choices...
...For Carlos Ibanez has completely destroyed the almost fanatical support that was responsible for his 1952 victory...
...In addition, the Communists, who are now outlawed, will probably sabotage Al-lende's efforts and support Bossay, who has some chance of winning if he agrees to legalize their status...
...Even five years of rule by General Carlos Ibanez, whose previous tenure of office (1927-1931) marked the country's only period of dictatorship in this century, has not changed this...
...Although comparatively small during most of its existence, the Falange has always been respected because of the high caliber of its leaders, who include some of the country's outstanding intellectuals...
...Among the major reasons for Ibanez's failure are the following: 1. He has shown a high degree of irresponsibility in selecting Cabinet members...
...Frei's chief handicap is the country's fear of clericalism...
...Relations between Church and State have not been an issue in Chilean politics since the two were separated by the Constitution of 1925...
...The leading man in the field is Eduardo Frei, who has been named by the Falange party...
...Instead of running in the constituency he then represented, where he was assured of re-election, he chose to run from Santiago, the capital city, where he faced an uphill fight...
...The latter, passed in 1948 to outlaw the Communist party, had been used on occasion against non-Communist trade unionists and was anathema to the whole labor movement...
...Then the country was governed by a left-wing coalition dominated by the Radical party, spokesman for the urban middle class and the large body of Government employees...
...Frei, nonetheless, would probably make a good President...
...high imposts on unused fertile land would force landlords to work their holdings, sell them to someone who would, or turn them over to the Government...
...In recent years, there has been a surge of popular support for the Falange, partly as a reaction to Ibanez, partly because it has never really been in office and cannot be held responsible for Chile's troubles...
...Frei's major opponent to date is Luis Bossay, nominee of Chile's largest party, the Radicals...
...This consisted of a new contract with the nitrate mines, which lowered their taxes and extended their exploitation rights for several decades...
...2. Ibanez began his regime with the assistance of the curious coalition that had supported him during the election—the left-wing Popular Socialist party, the conservative Agrarian party, and a large number of independents...
...There is widespread disillusionment among the workers in the parties of the extreme Left...
...The right-wing Conservatives and Liberals have put up Jorge Ales-sandri...
...He not only won, but he got the largest majority of any candidate in the country...
...Finally, vast areas of Chile's central valley are not cultivated because large landholders find it more profitable to use primitive methods and only a part of their arable land...
...Too little has been done, though, to increase the productivity of manufacturing industries...
...Some road building has been done, but a shortage of transportation facilities makes it difficult to get produce to market...
...and a new law for the copper industry, which consolidated and reduced its tax load...
...In fact, he has been changing cabinets every few months...
...Plagued by economic problems, Chile has been working toward establishing diversified industry by exploiting its abundant hydroelectric resources and its extensive and varied supply of minerals...
...Soon after taking office, however, he quarreled with the Popular Socialists and his administration has since revolved around his personal friends...
...Accordingly, it has instituted a program of curbing wage and salary increases, curbing bank credit, and attempting to balance the budget...
...The coalition, in addition to furthering industrialization, also expanded the trade-union movement...
...But Peron alienated the Chileans during his visit by his high-handed actions, and his collapse dealt a strong blow to Ibanez's popularity...
...Ironically, neither has been in power since 1920 when Jorge's father, Arturo, defeated them...
...Both the Conservative and Liberal parties are still strong, particularly in the rural areas...
...He has no chance of winning now either, although the recent unification of Chile's two Socialist parties will help him...
...This is composed of the Partido Socialista, the Partido Com-unista and several minor parties...
...Ibanez made extensive promises, which included bringing inflation under control and repealing the Law for the Defense of Democracy...
...During his first year in office, for example, he flirted with Argentine dictator Juan Peron and exchanged state visits with him...
...Since the end of 1955, the Government has been following the advice of a private U. S. economic advisory group known as the Klein-Sachs Mission...
...And, not long afterward, all the principal political factions named their candidates for this September's Presidential balloting...
...By 1952, the people decided it was ''time for a change...
...Chileans are now looking forward eagerly to a new chief of state...
...4. In the field of foreign policy, too, Ibanez has blundered...
...Frei clinched the Falange nomination with his Senate campaign in the March election...
...At the same time, strong nationalists were angered by the restructuring of relations with the nitrate and copper industries...
...Allende, a leading figure in the first of these, also ran for the Presidency as an extreme leftist in 1952 and came in a bad fourth...
...Most of Chile's workers now belong to trade unions, but the labor movement suffers from interference by the political parties and the tendency of non-Communist unionists to feel inferior to the Stalinists...
...Thus, instead of being a grain exporter, Chile has become a sizable importer...
...Perhaps the most significant period of Chile's industrialization came between 1938 and 1952...
...The country still must rely almost completely on copper and nitrate exports for foreign exchange...
...Some of his opponents pay him a backhanded compliment by saying that they know he would not bring the Church into politics, but that, if he is as good as expected, he will be able to virtually name his successor, who might be under Church influence...
...Remembering only the "stability" and "social peace" of General Ibanez's reign, they flocked to his banner...
...A Social Christian organization established in 1932, it has no connection with the Spanish party of the same name...
...Each new Finance Minister tried to institute his own "plan" for coping with the inflation...
...3. During the first three years of Ibanez rule, the country's pressing economic problems were handled in chaotic fashion...
...Moreover, agricultural development has been badly neglected...
...Thus, in the March 1957 Congressional elections only a handful of ibanistas won seats...
...The last named candidate is Salvador Allende, who is running under the banner of the Frente de Accion Popular...
...While Radical rule was responsible for economic progress, it also brought severe inflation...
...But there is widespread fear of clerical influence if Frei is elected...
...In the past, he has been very friendly to the Communists...
...A graduated land tax is badly needed...
...But organized workers' groups have been complaining bitterly because prices have been allowed to climb even more rapidly than before the program's inception...
...One of the country's top industrialists, he was Finance Minister in the late 1940s...
...A leading economist and a man of ideas, he sees the problems facing the country clearly and is willing to deal with them in a realistic manner...
...Bossay, representative of the party's left wing, was nominated after a strong intra-party contest...
...The people are looking forward to a new President who will cope with the country's economic problems Report on Chile By Robert J. Alexander A narrow strip of land running 3,000 miles down the mountainous west coast of South America, Chile has been one of the most consistently democratic nations in this hemisphere for more than 25 years...
...Whatever the election's outcome, Chile's next President will have formidable work ahead trying to cope with the country's many problems of economic growth...
Vol. 41 • January 1958 • No. 3
