CHAPTER ELEVEN: Development in Asia and Latin America

Using the Perspectives

In a recent article in TCSDaily, Alvaro Vargas Llosa argues that "a country ceases to be underdeveloped when its citizens shift their anger from other people's wealth to the quality of the services their own wealth is paying for."

1.  How does this relate to inequality? Is Llosa's statement a good way to assess the level of development?
     

Llosa describes recent developments in Chile as a perfect example of this sort of change that a country undergoes. For the past few years, "national malaise has manifested itself in violent student protests, strikes affecting copper mining and the forestry industry, and the gradual unraveling of the coalition that has governed since 1990."

Llosa asked Chilean President Bachelet and former President Ricardo Lago what was happening. They noted that "Chileans feel they have became a nation of consumers but not quite a nation of citizens; in other words, our economic prosperity, which has reduced poverty to 14 percent of the population, is not reflected in the kind of basic services people are obtaining. Our coalition bears some responsibility because our political platform is stuck in the early 1990s and today's problems are those of a more prosperous nation."

2.  What services might the Chilean citizens be demanding?
     

Llosa notes that "at first sight, Chileans should be content. Their economy is the envy of Latin America. Their average per capita income, which will soon reach $10,000, continues to rise. And the prospects for copper, the country's main export, are rosy: Despite a decline in demand in the United States, China's insatiable appetite for the metal means that global demand will continue to grow for quite some time."

3.  What perspective is Llosa suggesting that Chile has pursued to ensure development?
     

Llosa, Alvaro Varga. "Defining Developed," TCSDaily, February 12, 2008.
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