Log #6
Han, Clara. Life in Debt: Times of Care and Violence in Neoliberal Chile. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.
For this research log I started to read the book by Clara Han Life in Debt: Times of Care and Violence in Neoliberal Chile. I skimmed the introduction and two chapters, one called “Neoliberal Depression” and another called “Community Experiments”. While this book has helpful background about the Chilean coup and the real-life experiences of the people, overall there was not a lot of information about the Chilean miracle. In running a search on the term there were only three instances in which it popped up throughout the entire book. However, it provided other interesting perspectives that continue to serve as jumping off points for my podcast. Also, the author delves into the trauma and emotional burden that was placed on these people as a consequence of the coup. Han unpacks the ‘neoliberal depression’ that many experienced even once the coup was over. She describes how Leticia, one of her ethnographic subjects, experienced real bodily pain as a result of Chile’s turn to neoliberal. It could be interesting to quote some of Han’s interviewees in the podcast.
Newman, Lucia. “The Other Side of Chile’s ‘economic Miracle’.” | Al Jazeera. November 16, 2013. Accessed May 08, 2019. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/11/other-side-chile-economic-miracle-201311159282210130.html.
The video/article discusses how the neoliberal reforms of the 70s have had lasting repercussions on the economy to this day. The news organization examines the Aysen province, a particularly poor and rural area near the Patagonia region of Chile, and how they experience the harsh economic inequality that began in the 70s. They interview a local fisherman who complains that the big corporate fisheries overfish the waters as well as pay him almost nothing for the fish he does manage to catch. They cite that the top !% of the wealthy in Chile possesses 30% of total wealth. They also say that nearly half of what is traded on the Chilean stock exchanged is controlled by just four families. They blame the extreme deregulated nature of the Chilean economy. This video will be important to use in the closing portion of my podcast. It highlights the huge divide in wealth that continues to plague Chile to this day.
Reflection
My research for this week was helpful in formulating the concluding thoughts for my podcast. While Clara Han’s book did not provide me with proliferative details concerning the Chilean miracle itself, it had some decent background and first-person narratives that could be beneficial to my podcast. The other source was helpful in showing the on-the-ground effects of the Chilean miracle over thirty years after these policies were implemented. I plan to use audio clips from this video in my podcast.