To start off our Monday in Santiago, we took a short ride on the bus to AmCham Chile (Chilean American Chamber of Commerce). As we walked in we were greeted by friendly faces and an array of sweets and drinks. When 9am rolled around and the presenter came to the front and Surge introduced Roberto Matus.
Roberto Matus is currently the GM at the Chilean American Chamber of Commerce and one of his many accomplishments include negotiating and signing the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and the US (which took 10 years to complete).
As we learned what an accomplished and impressive man Mr. Matus is, we eagerly awaited the start of his presentation which was an economic briefing on Chile. Titled "Chile and Road to Development," Mr. Matus explained that Chile is currently a developing country working to become a developed country. He also explained that due to globalization Chile needs to be competitive, strategic, negotiated in its private sectors as well as its nonprofit sectors both nationally and internationally.
In regards, to the FTA between the US and Chile, Mr. Matus told us about the many challenges that came with this task. A few of the challenges were the size of Chile because Chile is as long as the US (it stretched across the US from East to West) and the climate varies throughout the entire country as well. Along with that, the US population is 18 times larger and the US economy is 72 times larger than Chile's so Chile had a huge "battle" ahead of them in order to get the FTA signed. Chile's process of integration into the world has also changed immensely since 1973. Initially, Chile had an import substitution policy (high tariffs and strong state participation). Then they had the Chicago Boys era who presented Chile with a unilateral approach . Finally, in 1990, negotiations began and Chile began to "play in the big leagues." By this I mean that Chile was now being accepted into APEC, OECD, FTA, Trans Pacific Partnership and the Pacific Alliance.
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Currently, Chile invests a lot within the country's businesses and citizens. Chile has a program called Start Up Chile which helps entrepreneurs start their businesses (note: this can be done in 5 days!). Also, Chile has a program known as Becas Chile which is a scholarship program that allows Chilean students to study abroad and go and learn and then come back and give back to Chile and help improve the economy with the skills they have acquired. This is an incredible program considering that 70% of Chilean college students are first generations attendees, and 50% of 18-24 year olds in the country are attending a university.
Mr. Matus also discussed how issues within the country created economic growth. First, he told us what occurred when 33 miners were trapped underground for 69 days. He explained that this crisis showcased the value of human life, leadership in serious situations and the positive effect of transparency (miners were broadcasted live while they were down there). Mr. Matus also told us that an earthquake destroyed 18% of their GDP yet the Chilean economy still showed growth.
Finally, Mr. Matus talked about B corporations which are companies certified by the non profit B lab to meet standards in employee treatment and environmental impact. So, essentially, the best companies in the world and the best companies for the world. Chile has 65 companies that are considered B corporations and they hope to continue to be able to label their companies as such.
To conclude his presentation, Mr. Matus stated that we should see the Chilean economy as moving from Chicago Boys to B Boys. The presentation was followed by at short Q&A sessions with an exchanging of gifts immediately after.
WE EVEN MADE PRESS NEWS:
WE EVEN MADE PRESS NEWS:
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