Chile Forum

Had to share this with the kids on the forum. I am so proud of our Chile.

The safest and most dangerous countries in Latin America for business executives and multinationals.

BY CHRONICLE STAFF

Costa Rica, Chile and Uruguay are the safest countries in Latin America, while Haiti remains the most dangerous country when it comes to security for business executives and multinationals, according to the latest Latin Security Index developed by FTI Consulting Ibero America for Latin Business Chronicle.

Meanwhile, Ecuador’s spat with Colombia the past ten days over Colombia’s March 1 incursion across its border and accusations that Ecuador has been permitting FARC to have a safe haven, is creating a trend towards higher danger levels in Ecuador.

“The recent spat with Colombia over incursions across its border have ratcheted up tensions in that area, as well as the accusation that Ecuador has been permitting FARC to have a safe haven in the country,” says Frank Holder, FTI's senior managing director for forensic and litigation consulting and a leading expert on security issues in Latin America. On the other hand, political tensions and civil unrest in general have seemed to ease a bit recently, he points out.

Also Venezuela is seeing a trend towards higher danger, according to the Latin Security Index. Neighboring Colombia still remains more dangerous that Venezuela, although it has the same danger level score.

”Despite President [Alvaro] Uribe’s efforts against the FARC showing demonstrable progress in terms of dramatically lowering kidnapping rates, the death of a high level FARC commander in Ecuador has led to geopolitical instability, and most likely presages a return of FARC attacks within Colombia, utilizing Venezuela and Ecuador as possible safe havens,” Holder predicts. “The FARC may also be receiving logistical, monetary and weapons support from Venezuela.”

The Latin Security Index measures the danger level in Latin America based on homicide rates as well as other factors affecting corporate security and the safety of foreign business executives. FTI Consulting bases its ratings on official numbers from public security secretariats, local police, governments, NGO's and institutes of crime investigations.

Each country receives rating from 1 to 5 with 1 representing a non-dangerous country and 5 representing a very dangerous country. Not one single country...

Source: http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/a ... px?id=2145

And also another article:

Latin Technology: Chile Best, Cuba Worst
Chile (top) has Latin America's highest Internet and broadband penetration rates, while Cuba (above) has the lowest. (Photos: Jesus Ynostroza/IDB and Latin Business Chronicle)


Uruguay improves most and Bolivia the least, the second annual Latin Technology Index shows.

BY CHRONICLE STAFF

Thanks to strong growth in broadband, PC and wireless telephony penetration, Uruguay has become the second-leading technology nation in Latin America, according to the second annual Latin Technology Index from Latin Business Chronicle.

The index of 20 countries provides a unique comparison of the technology level of each Latin American country by looking at the penetration rates of Internet, broadband Internet, personal computers (PCs), wireless subscribers and fixed telephone lines. It uses 2006 technology data from the International Telecommunications Union, Computer Industry Almanac and Santiago Chamber of Commerce and population data from the International Monetary Fund and the Population Reference Bureau.

CHILE: TECHNOLOGY STAR

Chile again tops the list, thanks to having Latin America's highest Internet and broadband penetration, the second-highest wireless telephony penetration, the third-highest PC penetration and the fifth-highest fixed...

Although I don't like my motherland very much, I'm quite proud on how it ranks compared to others in the same continent (specially when it comes to economic freedom and safeness).

This is something that many chileans aren't aware of, which once they know about it, it makes them wonder how life really is in other LA countries.

BTW there's an updated list in the wikipedia article about Chile:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile#Inte ... l_rankings

mistertk wrote:. . . I don't like my motherland very much . . . .

TK, might you elaborate upon this? Clearly, most of us posters (and, more particularly, we North Americans) are to some degree or another enamored of Chile; but none of us really has the same perspective a true Chilean has.

@RWS: Do you like your country? Why you came to Chile and not other country?.
First off, while the typical chilean may sometimes complain about his/her current living standards, the country situation when it comes to important things like health, delinquency, economy, politics, etc... he/she is still proud of being chilean and living here.

I often talk with my friends about how's the american lifestyle (take "american dream" stereotype for this), and while we agree about the better standards for some things, and because always curiosity for the unknown makes us want to be there to experience that, we often agree that developed nations are the way to go despite the negative things it may have.

Why I don't like Chile very much? I'm tired of an unmotivated population who just care for themselves and not for the future of the country. This means students not worried about their future, many workers don't do their best and employers sometimes don't respect their rights.

What's going on with the middle class? Just look at our division of social classes (ABC1 - C2 - C3 - D) and realise that there is no 'middle class'. The salary gap between C2 and C3 is big, and most of the chileans are in C3 and D. How do you expect a family to have savings in case anything happens with all they have to spend?. Living paycheck to paycheck and with debt isn't what anyone would want for his nation. At least americans get paid better, and what we classify as poverty here is different in other nations. The other thing is that people don't get educated about personal finances, especially the lower classes, but that is not only in Chile of course.

My mom comes from a working class family, but she received good quality education and lived in a safe environment. Today the same neighborhood where she used to live, isn't as good anymore. How do you expect to have a better nation, if the public education quality is the same as 10 years ago (it hasn't improved according to the Simce test) even when a lot of money has been put into it?

It's behind in terms of technology adoption especially at consumer level, criminals (the so called flaites) are everywhere, in fact I was almost robbed today by one at the exit of the mall.

A country that has a lot of potential seems sort of lost to me, not lost in the sense that we're just not going to improve at all... but with the current situation, I don't see where is that big social change we need in order to face up the fact that we aim to become a developed nation by 2010.

Sorry for my english by the way.

mistertk, don't worry about your English on the forum. It is still better than most of our members after a few drinks (or sober).

Here is the thing. It is completely normal, and I believe you recognize, that at your age the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. Sometimes it really is greener.

I lived in or visited about 25 countries before finally settling down in Chile. The funny thing is, I was fairly sure that Chile was it at about number 19 or 20, but had to check out the rest of South America and then live in the Netherlands, Belgium, and China just for good measure.

Travel goes from being a whole new experience to feeling like a job at some point, and by then you have a real appreciation for which country or culture fits you. Towards the end of my travels I felt like if I visited one more 5,000 year old building or visited another culture that was going to go extinct I was going to puke. I use to get a rush out of the culture shock. In fact I would call it a bit of an addiction. At some point that turned in to culture fatigue.

At your age, I would highly encourage you to get out and see the World. Do some pack packing. It does not matter how much money you spend on University education or what University you go to, you will never get the education you will get from traveling. In fact, once upon a time that was the point of education. It was suppose to teach people about a World they could not visit for themselves. Somewhere that got lost in a rush to crank out working brainless zombies.

Travel while going to the University. One of my favorite ways of financing travel around the world was by using the excuse of going to different University degree programs. It will improve your education overall, and make you more competitive when you do come back to Chile. We know a lot of Chileans that have been out for years and years working and going to school, that are now coming back to Chile because of the opportunities here.

As for the States, it does have a lot of wonderful things. It also unfortunately has a lot of bad things. That is likely what ticks me off about it the most. The price I had to pay for the good things just got too high. Perhaps some day that will be corrected, I just decided I was not going to watch my life pass by waiting for that to happen. I think a lot of the people that move to Chile are in a similar position. The problem with the States is that we are still the best at selling the "american dream" as a product or commodity to the World. Very few really have the American dream in America.

As for consumer debt, in every country it is just another form of slavery. Stay out of it now. Once your in it is very hard to ever get out. The system is designed to keep you in debt. All those paper rich gringos, are now in real trouble because of the mortgage collapse in the States. They payed a heavy price for that American dream, and now are all but certain to never have an opportunity again to obtain it because their credit is destroyed.

As for all those lazy, unmotivated, incompetent people and businesses in Chile there is an up side to that. Remember, for a person that is even kind of motivated there are nearly unlimited opportunities in Chile because of it. A business partner years ago said to me about Latin America, "you don't need a new idea, you just need a good idea". Do something right that is being done half ass in Chile, and you will be rich.

I told this to someone I think before on the forum. To figure out what needs to be done in Chile, spend a week with a pen and piece of paper in your pocket. Every time you see something that annoys you or does not work correctly, write it down. Don't think about it. Just write it down. At the end of the week sit down and go through the list and figure out how you could provide that service or correct that problem, with the least amount of investment on your part (ideally no investment) and get someone to pay you to do it. That is where the money is at. Chances are if something is annoying you, it is annoying every other Chilean also.

Now, from that list figure out which one of those things you would like to do (e.g. rank them by what you would enjoy doing ). There is your short list of real opportunities. You might want to do this for a while over a month or two just to gather more options, but the method should work the same. Even if you never do them, it is very educational exercise in economics. If you try it and it fails, it is even more educational ( the importance of very little investment comes in to play here ). Most people that succeed in business failed at more than 1 before getting it right. I think the average is around seven. In Chile, if you only make half as many mistakes as the other guy, you will be a big success.

Top notch advice Charles!

mistertk wrote:@RWS: Do you like your country?

I do; very much.

Why you came to Chile and not other country? . . . .

That's a very long story. You deserve a detailled answer, and it might even prove useful to you as you contemplate a move out of Chile. I'll try to answer in detail next week, as this will be overfull for me. But a few comments now.

My background resembles Charles's in a few ways, though I've lived in or visited more countries, and for longer (my father was a career soldier, an officer with diplomatic experience; during the years of American global predominance, that meant many and extensive assignments abroad; later, I moved and travelled for university and my own work).

I do not see "the American dream" as accumulation of material goods, save incidentally, but, rather, as the right of the individual to govern his own life, answerable only to God, his neighbor, and himself. That freedom of the common man from the domination of prince and priest made the United States unique among major nations. That most states now give at least lip service to this ideal shows its force and is among the richest legacies America leaves the world. That the ideal has been corrupted is both our shame and the world's loss. It also comes close to the thrust of my reasons for, with sadness and (I confess) some reluctance, my decision to leave the country.

Sorry for my english by the way.

Thanks, but no need for apology. Your best writing is very good, better than some native speakers', and you've never been unintelligible.

I'll add only that, TK, your admission to the forum is a pleasure for all of us. I'm glad you joined.