Chilean History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chilean History - Essay Example In terms of population, it has a huge population given its size, and it dominates in terms of agriculture. For Chile to have accomplished what it has accomplished to this far, there has been history that will not be forgotten soon. Chile was under military dictatorship that lasted for sixteen and a half years after the years which needed much reform. The years after 1973, (1973-1990), were characterized by military dictatorship that saw people lose their lives while some went missing. Today, Chile is one of the stable nations that are prosperous. In the 1960s and 1970s, Chile experienced social and economic problems that needed reform (Collier, Simon and William, 102). An economic depression was worsened by capital flight, which also led to the plummeting of private investments. Production fell, and the level of unemployment rose. Chile’s import strategy was faced with an overvaluation of the domestic currency. The prices of agricultural products began decreasing to the point that the government had to intervene in order for there to be regulation. Chile was also faced with an earthquake in 1960 plummeted the economic and social welfare of the people deeper. Public infrastructure was affected the monetary loss was more than anticipated. In addition, present was the social injustice from those who were supposed to be leading. New social groups emerged who pushed for certain reforms. These new social groups differed with leaders about certain conditions, which included the living conditions of people. The major social problems were the issue with the Roman Catholic Church whose political, social and economic affairs were looked at (Collier, Si mon and William, 122).... The Popular Unity government made efforts to reform the economy. It started with initiation of economic transformations which included a program that involved nationalization (nationalization program had legislations, requisitions and involvement of stakeholders), increase in real wages, reduction of inflation, urging of economic growth, increase of product consumption and this was mostly for those who were poor. Another initiative the government took was the reduction of economic independence on the rest of the world. This would lead to a significant increase in the economic value of Chile. Most of these reforms were to be accomplished by boosting the aggregate demand and strict price controls (Collier, Simon and William, 155). The government took over the copper mines and other foreign firms, banks and large estates. In 1971, by a unanimous vote of the Congress, the government rationalized the foreign copper firms. Also in the same period, the government removed the emergency legis lation from so as to allow it to take over and control industries without the approval of the congress (Collier, Simon and William, 202). Keynesian measures were applied in order to increase salaries and wages, thus increasing the purchasing power of working and middle classes. Though economically the party was on the path to success, politically, the party leader, Allende faced problems holding his party together. The party also faced different views by the opposing political parties, but still managed to make and maintain ties with other nations (Allende, 154). The Pinochet regime sought to repress women and had neoliberal economic and social policies that had a negative effect on the poor. The Chilean military overthrew the Popular Unity government in a violent coup. During the