the chilean miracle (2)

What Chile pioneered under Pinochet was an evolution of corporatism: a mutually supporting alliance between a police state and large corporations, joining forces to wage all-out was on the third power sector - the workers - thereby drastically increasing the alliance's share of the national wealth.

That war - what many Chileans understandably see as a war of the rich against the poor and middle class - is the real story of Chile's economic 'miracle'. By 1988, when the economy had stabilised and was growing rapidly, 45 per cent of the population had fallen below the poverty line. The riches 10 per cent of Chileans, however, had seen their incomes increase by 83 per cent. Even in 2007, Chile remained one of the most unequal societies in the world - out of 123 countries in which the United Nations tracks inequality, Chile ranked 116th, making it the 8th most unequal country on the list.