Chilean policy ‘unchanged’

Press, 23 February 1989, Page 21

Chilean policy ‘unchanged’

By

DAVID CLARKSON

New Zealand companies with big investments in Chile have been assured that Chile’s economic policies will continue no matter who wins this year’s elections.

The assurance was repeated in Christchurch this week by the Chilean Ambassador, Mr Mario Barros, on his first official visit to Christchurch since taking up his position last year. New Zealand, Australian, Japanese, and American companies have huge investments in Chile, where a referendum has signalled an end to the 15year grip on power of the military strongman, General Augusto Pinochet. Parliamentary and presidential elections would be held this year, but Opposition leaders invited to Washington had said that even if they gained power there would be no turn-around on economic policy, Mr Barros said.

"The Opposition leaders said, ‘Politically we will have some changes to do, but economically you can relax. It is crazy to

change a system of freemarket anti-protectionism which has been so successful,’ ” Mr Barros said.

New Zealand companies with business interests there include the New Zealand Dairy

Board, Fletcher Challenge, Carter Holt Harvey and New Zealand Salmon. Candidates in the presidential elections, which will not include General Pinochet, will not be chosen until June. Chile’s political parties have been either forbidden or have gone into recess since the take-over by General Pinochet, but Mr Barros said they were now re-emerging to contest the elections. Mr Barros, aged 60, has been a career diplomat for 32 years, serving in Argentina, Yugoslavia, Ecuador, Spain and Switzerland. His last appointment, in Geneva, was at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade headquarters, involving negotiations which will continue in New Zealand next month. Mr Barros will be part of Chile’s delegation.