Word: santiagos
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Ostensibly, Chile was in the midst of its worst political crisis since Marxist President Salvador Allende Gossens came to power two years ago. Fully 20 of Chile's 25 provinces were under a government-proclaimed "state of emergency," and Santiago's streets were patrolled by the army. No fewer than 21 associations of small businessmen, teachers and professionals were in the fourth week of a strike that already has cost Chile's shaky economy more than $100 million in lost revenue. In response to the crisis, all 15 of Allende's Cabinet ministers resigned last week...
...executives of most companies have simply written off the value of their seized assets. Kennecott Copper Corp., however, has come up with a third strategy to recover the losses it sustained when the Chilean government of Marxist President Salvador Allende Gossens last year seized its El Teniente mine, near Santiago. In a move of significance to all multinationals operating in mineral-rich but money-poor countries, the company is trying to throw up what amounts to an international legal blockade of Chile's copper shipments...
Kennecott's action has shaken other developing nations, which grudgingly depend on big foreign firms to develop their resources. Later this month mining ministers of Peru, Zambia and Zaire (formerly the Belgian Congo) will meet in Santiago to discuss with Chilean officials how best to counter Kennecott's thrust. The court battle could hardly have come at a worse time for Chile, which gets about 70% of its foreign currency from copper sales. The country is already boiling with political and social unrest, and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Obviously, Kennecott's offensive is likely...
...same time, Allende was clearly on the political defensive. He offered to submit the truckers' demands to mediation and they refused. Then he invited the opposition Christian Democrat leaders to meet with him to discuss ways of ending the strike, only to be rebuffed again. Last week Santiago bus owners threatened to strike and Allende hastened to meet their demands with only minor reservations. He agreed to draft a law guaranteeing that bus transport will remain in the private sector, return three nationalized bus companies to their owners, and drop lawsuits against transport leaders brought during the strikes...
...busmen struck anyway, almost paralyzing Santiago. Meanwhile, the truckers, who had started it all, moved to take advantage of Allende's seemingly weakened resolve. They announced that they were joining with other strikers to present a new set of demands to the government, in effect raising the price that Allende must pay for civil peace...