por Jim
I've wanted to visit Argentina and Chile since my first trip to South America in the late l960s when I didn't. At that time, the only capital city I was familiar with was Guatemala City and, during the course of that trip, I was impressed by both Bogota and Lima, which seemed big and sophisticated by my standards. I had the impression that Santiago and Buenos Aires were at a higher level yet, but was unable then to explore them.
Much has happened in the intervening years. I've seen a lot and changed a bit since, but we tend to internalize such adjustments. I'm thinking more of the political and economic changes that both sides were subjected to during the past few decades. There was the dirty war in Argentina with excesses dramatically reported by Jacobo Timerman. Worse yet was the US-abetted coup in Chile that led to the death of Salvador Allende, Chile's popularly-elected leftist president. In each case the armed forced took power and, in collusion with shady paramilitary political units, waged a dirty war what they saw as subversion on the left.
An unsophisticated argument (and all my arguments about this region are quite unsophisticated) that Chile has done better in the transition back to democracy. Both nations are currently led by elected women, but the Chilean regime has less of the weirdness that has been typical of Argentina since the Peron years as today's ongoing scandal about the death of the prosecutor who wanted to indict the President suggests. In the interim, there's a case to be made by that economic reforms the Pinochet regime made with the help of University of Chicago economists led to a more robust performance while the Argentines continue to borrow money in the international markets that they have difficulty repaying and tinkering with their currency in ways that visitors like me can't understand that must prove frustrating to the locals. A dollar will get you about 9 pesos at a bank and 12 at the blue rate widely available on the street.
Note to tourists: don't use credit cards, don't search for atms, just bring lots of American cash, preferable in hundred dollar bills and your money will go much further in Argentina.
I've been delighted by my visit to both countries. Argentina and beautiful and friendly. Buenos Aires is big and sophisticated, a blend of edgy new architecture and buildings constructed more than a century ago when Argentina was among the richest countries in the world. Santiago is surrounded by snow-covered mountains and filled with cafes and commerce. As with any major city, both Buenos Aires and Santiago are strings of neighborhoods linked by subway systems that are more than adequate.
People seem reasonably prosperous and comfortable, but neither nation is immune to the economic challenges that have been cascading around the globe.
I've wanted to visit Argentina and Chile since my first trip to South America in the late l960s when I didn't. At that time, the only capital city I was familiar with was Guatemala City and, during the course of that trip, I was impressed by both Bogota and Lima, which seemed big and sophisticated by my standards. I had the impression that Santiago and Buenos Aires were at a higher level yet, but was unable then to explore them.
Much has happened in the intervening years. I've seen a lot and changed a bit since, but we tend to internalize such adjustments. I'm thinking more of the political and economic changes that both sides were subjected to during the past few decades. There was the dirty war in Argentina with excesses dramatically reported by Jacobo Timerman. Worse yet was the US-abetted coup in Chile that led to the death of Salvador Allende, Chile's popularly-elected leftist president. In each case the armed forced took power and, in collusion with shady paramilitary political units, waged a dirty war what they saw as subversion on the left.
An unsophisticated argument (and all my arguments about this region are quite unsophisticated) that Chile has done better in the transition back to democracy. Both nations are currently led by elected women, but the Chilean regime has less of the weirdness that has been typical of Argentina since the Peron years as today's ongoing scandal about the death of the prosecutor who wanted to indict the President suggests. In the interim, there's a case to be made by that economic reforms the Pinochet regime made with the help of University of Chicago economists led to a more robust performance while the Argentines continue to borrow money in the international markets that they have difficulty repaying and tinkering with their currency in ways that visitors like me can't understand that must prove frustrating to the locals. A dollar will get you about 9 pesos at a bank and 12 at the blue rate widely available on the street.
Note to tourists: don't use credit cards, don't search for atms, just bring lots of American cash, preferable in hundred dollar bills and your money will go much further in Argentina.
I've been delighted by my visit to both countries. Argentina and beautiful and friendly. Buenos Aires is big and sophisticated, a blend of edgy new architecture and buildings constructed more than a century ago when Argentina was among the richest countries in the world. Santiago is surrounded by snow-covered mountains and filled with cafes and commerce. As with any major city, both Buenos Aires and Santiago are strings of neighborhoods linked by subway systems that are more than adequate.
People seem reasonably prosperous and comfortable, but neither nation is immune to the economic challenges that have been cascading around the globe.
I'm delighted to finally be here and look forward to comparing Bogota with how it first struck me when I visited in the l960s.
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