Press Releases

ChilePress Releases
COHA

The Failings of Chile’s Education System: Institutionalized Inequality and a Preference for the Affluent

While the structure of Chile’s elementary and secondary education has changed considerably since the demise of the Pinochet dictatorship, the Chilean system is currently undergoing intense scrutiny due to the recent mass student protests against President Bachelet’s proposed 2006 education policy, Ley General de Educación (LGE). This General Education bill promises to eliminate discriminatory admissions policies at Chile’s primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels, and establishes a National Education Council to further advance school autonomy away from state control. However, teachers and students continue to oppose the LGE for its failure to reform the government’s basic financial strategy in order to abet a healthier and more equitable educational system.

What President Bachelet Hoped to Accomplish
Chilean education offers inherently unequal opportunities for students from low-income families, who consistently experience sub-standard educational achievements as a result of an ongoing bias in favor of privatization measures. The government’s school voucher program has not only exacerbated the socioeconomic divide between public and private institutions, but has also ensured that wealthier students have access to quality education, which guarantees their advancement to universities and a choice of careers. Although President Bachelet’s educational reform is intended to alleviate certain discriminatory practices that prevent low-income students from entering institutions of higher learning, the continuation of Chile’s market-based strategy for school financing will almost certainly guarantee existing inequalities.

For Full Article Click Here

This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Andrea Arango.

An Embattled Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner: Can She Restore Her Popularity and Aid in Argentina’s Recovery?

To the outrage of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Vice President Julio Cobos cast the decisive vote on July 17 against her plan to increase the export tax on grains being shipped abroad, effectively putting a full stop to a very tense domestic situation. As a result, Argentina today is considerably more tranquil now that the hostile demonstrations and strikes by Argentine farmers, which led to chaos in the domestic and overseas food markets, have ended. The crisis averted, average Argentines can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the nation’s most unsettling issue, a crushing annual inflation rate of almost 30 percent, can be addressed.

During last year’s electoral campaign, Cristina was consistently 20 to 30 percentage points ahead of the other presidential candidates in the polls. Her victory was expected as her husband, Nestor Kirchner, had just ended his own presidential term with high popularity ratings, and the country looked forward to the continuity of his economic success paired with Cristina’s less heavy-handed style of governance. But President Fernández’s unwillingness to reduce the agricultural export tax and her obdurate approach to the dispute – perceived by many to be haughty and authoritarian – severely damaged her popularity. Even some of her most fervent supporters became disappointed by her uncompromising attitude. In addition, many complain that Nestor holds too much sway over Cristina and has had a negative influence on her dealings with the rural sector.

For Full Article Click Here

This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Emily Dunn.

Read More
MexicoPress Releases
COHA

The Menendez Plan: Social Development as a Path to Hemispheric Success

In October 2007, as President Bush enthusiastically introduced the Mérida Initiative, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) proposed an alternative plan for aid to Latin America, the Social Investment and Economic Development for the Americas Act (s2120). Fully aware of the threat that narco-trafficking poses to the security of the Americas, as well as to its hemispheric partners, Menendez believes the answer to such social pathologies should go beyond an increase to a country’s security forces and narco-police. Accordingly, the New Jersey legislator has proposed a plan that will attempt to remedy the deeper social issues that underlie the problem. Menendez has said of his plan, “This initiative aims to make the United States safer, stronger and more prosperous by making our hemisphere more stable and more affluent.”

S2120 will serve the purpose of financing social development in Latin America while simultaneously repairing the fractured U.S.-Latin American relationship that has resulted from an inadequate U.S. foreign policy towards the region. Menendez, among many others, has recognized this need, claiming, “Our challenge in this regard will be to broaden the scope of our federal funds in terms of international diplomacy, development aid, and international assistance. Many Latinos in the United States look at Latin America and see trouble brewing.”

For Full Article Click Here

This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associates Sarah Hamburger and Elizabeth Reavey.

Ecuador’s New Constitution Invites Future Problems

Late last week, Ecuador’s Central Bank Minister Robert Andrade resigned in the wake of the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly’s resounding 94-32 vote approving a new constitution that is likely to strip the financial institution of its autonomy. If ratified in a countrywide referendum on September 28, the new constitution will be Ecuador’s twentieth such organic document since the country achieved its independence in 1830. President Rafael Correa of the Alianza Party has ferociously supported the drafting and eventual promulgation of the constitution in an effort to strengthen his executive powers and prospects for attaining his political and economic goals. However, Correa has stated that if the constitutional referendum is defeated, he will step down from office and that the ousted Congress will then take power. A complicating factor is that the popularity of the constitution with the general public has dwindled to a low point in mid-July of only 32 percent. This represents a dramatic drop from the 82 percent approval rating which was recorded at the time that the Constituent Assembly was created in April 2007. The proposed constitution has since been widely criticized for reflecting only the goals of the ruling coalition and not representing the interests of the entire Ecuadorian population.

For Full Article Click Here

This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Michael Katz.

Read More