The Country of Cile

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I. Introduction
Chile is an up-and-coming political player in the global economy. It’s political history has been a root cause of all of Chile’s problems. New regiments and military control stunted its growth until fairly recently. In the last twenty-five years, the country was welcomed foreign interest and investment and has prospered as a result. Specifically, Chile has 22 trade agreements with 60 different countries. Chile has also gone a step further and is negotiating the Trans-Pacific-Partnership trade agreement with ten countries, including the US (CIA World Factbook). Its rapid growth can be attributed to the economic policies introduced in the 1980s and maintained since then. This incited a movement towards a more representative and democratic government. Furthermore, as of January 2014, Chile has obtained a temporary seat on the 2014-15 UN Security Council (CIA World Factbook). Socially, Chile has recently elected its first female president, Michelle Bachelet (The New York Times).

II. Political History
The 1970s were plagued with political instability. A Marxist and member of Chile’s Socialist Party, Salvador Allende, became the Chilean president. He nationalized private industries and banks and US interests in Chile’s major copper mines. However, since he was elected with merely 36% (GlobalEDGE) of all votes, he didn’t get much support in government. This lack of support led to decline in domestic production, major shortages of goods, food, and manufactured products, and an inflation rate of 1,000% per annum (GlobalEDGE). This deterioration of the economy led to constant strikes, collective demonstrations, and general unrest in the country. However, the year of 1970 also marked the introduction of free trade agreements...

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