THE CHILEAN EXPERIMENT.

CHILEAN politics & government, 1970-1973; PRAGMATISM; RIGHT & left (Political science); LATIN American politics & government; POLITICAL science

This paper focuses on the establishment of a new government in Chile as of April 1971 and the pragmatism which informs its attitude in economic and political matters. The new Unidad Popular government of Chile is not a marginal result of a cold-war situation, nor is it geared to the satisfaction of this or that global strategic demand; it is distinctly a national government come to power because of domestic circumstances unparalleled elsewhere in Latin America. It is addressed to complex problems which it hopes to face with measures which could be described as conventional, but applied with a pragmatism functionally related to a distinctly Chilean definition of those problems. The paper begins by considering the contemporary situation in the country with an understanding of her insularity with respect to the rest of Latin America. Next, the paper characterizes the Chilean Left. The author notes that in addition to its long history of rigorous and efficient internal organization and responsible participation in politics, the Chilean Left is also characterized by a remarkable dearth of theory. In conclusion, the author argues that Chile presents not a threat, but a hope; not a model to be imitated, but an experience to be reflected upon.