"Do it the Chilean way"; the new campaign to entice foreign investment. Designed by the Foreign Minister, this revamped campaign is the result of Chile's response to the earthquake earlier this year as well as the recent rescue of the 33 miners in the north.
Over the dinner table, when this campaign was mentioned, the Chileans I was with just rolled their eyes and laughed. Despite the global applause, Chileans are not unlike other citizens of the world's nations who are disappointed, expect more or even despise their own federal governments.
That having been said, I have found Chile to be quite the patriot country, unified in their effort to support their people (a weak statement this may be to some, as this particularly excludes the indigenous and the disabled, but all the same, generally true). Geography determined this skinny and desert/mountain-challenged country to develop as an isolated nation but with the onset of improved technologies, Chile is finally making an appearance on the world map. More and more people choose to visit each year as tourists, and the exposure gained from the “Los 33” can only benefit foreign investment, if it has not already done so.
Yet the question should also be asked as to why the mine collapsed in the first place? While everyone grabs at the opportunity to be photographed with the miners since their rescue, it has been quite the contrast to get people to commit to policy change. President Piñera has commissioned proposals into improving workplace healthy and safety in Chile, as a direct result of the mining accident. So far the proposals have be unable to discover a clear picture on job safety. The final report is due to be delivered on the 22nd November.
Despite his denial, the mine's owner has been accused of ignoring warnings from the miners (including some of the rescued miners) concerning the mine’s safety prior to its collapse. One of "Los 33" reported, “What made me sad was that people were dying because the company did not want to have something safer and only thought about money.”* Yet not all the blame can be placed on the owning company because the government inspectors were unable to detect any potential danger as well, even though the miners claim they flooded them with reports.
All in all, Chile did a fantastic job in collaborating with other nations around the world to successfully rescue the men who were merely 'just doing their job' and it was so inspiring to see people stop what they were doing or miss out of sleep so that they could catch a glimpse of one of the miners coming out of the ground in that claustrophobic capsule (the first miner was rescued at midnight and some of my students stayed up until 4am as one miner was delivered each hour, only to wake up at 6am for work). It was a wonderful feeling to be amongst people who truly believe in themselves, not necessarily their government, but the individuals that share their cultural values and make up the nation in which they live.
For this reason, I believe Chile deserves all the attention it is getting and more.
* http://santiagotimes.cl/news/human-rights/20056-chiles-commission-on-work-safety-delivers-preliminary-report-to-president-sebastian-pinera
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