WesWorld

It can be argued that many small investors would be preferable to one large block of shares. Placing a large block of shares in the hands of any one foreign investor invites a return to economic colonialism, which I am certain that Chile is desirous of avoiding. Having that large block of shares in a single foreign hand gives such an investor too loud a voice in management.

The management that has run the railways successfully is quite likely to remain in place. Privitization can be as much an ideological as an economic decision. Chile has reached, I believe, the stage where the state does not have to foster all internal development, but can successfully partner with the private sector.

In any event, Chile will choose the details of the process for privitization, and no investor or group of investors ought to presume their 'proprietary right' or assume that money is the only motivation behind the Chilean decision.

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
The management that has run the railways successfully is quite likely to remain in place. Privatization can be as much an ideological as an economic decision. Chile has reached, I believe, the stage where the state does not have to foster all internal development, but can successfully partner with the private sector.

Bruce has it exactly.

The EFE probably is, at the moment, probably the most modern (or at the very least one of the top three most modern) railways in South America. For the last five years or so they've essentially been run as an autonomous parastatal - a normal company with the government as their prime (in this case sole) shareholder. Aside from a few developmental loans, they're operating on their own internal budget only.

They've got a broad-gauge mainline running from Puerto Montt in the south to Antofagasta in the north, with the trunk line rated for 75mph / 120kph passenger trains. Branch lines connect much of the rest of the country, and some of the most important of those are being rebuilt for high speed passenger trains as well. The line between Valparaiso and Santiago, for instance, is a case in point. The northern end of the rail system is a smaller but modern meter-gauge railway system which connects with Bolivia. A number of smaller meter-gauge systems also exist in the south as well, with the most significant being located on the island of Chiloe.

In terms of the railway's physical plant, it's also first-rate, being composed of modern ALCo, Atlantean, Henschel or British-built steamers and several German diesel-powered streamliner trainsets. (Dieselization is not currently in Chile's interest because they have to import fuel. Coal is locally available and inexpensive, so steam locomotives will last to the 1960s or 1970s). Several of the steamers are condenser-equipped to operate in the extremely arid Atacama regions. They're up to date with the latest European and North American technology regarding signals, and on many of the higher-traffic lines, they've encouraged the construction of road fly-overs rather than grade-level crossings. Their maintenance facilities are capable of comprehensively rebuilding most of their locomotives or rolling stock, and they can produce their own light locomotives (up to 2-8-2 size) indigenously.

EFE's only real albatross is that they accepted an interest-deferred loan from the Chilean government to carry out the modifications on their half of the Transandine Railway modifications, which is quite a hefty project. With all the kerfluffle of the Argentine railway nationalization, however, that's going to cast a shadow over the project, as Chile retains some doubts about the ability or interest of an Argentine national railway to continue investing in what is a very expensive and high-risk project.

In short, the Chilean government is not whistling for money by seeking out privatization - they're just basically opening up a section of their stock for private ownership (share issue privatization) because they no longer feel it's necessary for the government to control 100% of EFE's stock. As this is Chile's first major experiment with privatization, they're not going to sell off all the stock in one big lump - they're going to take their time selling it off in blocks over a few months or years, evaluating the results as they go.

April 14
With the beginning of winter, the Chilean military has terminated crop-spraying operations against drug plantations in Bolivia. The government speculated that these efforts, though expensive for the Chilean Air Force to carry out, were extremely effective at disrupting or destroying drug plants before they could be harvested. With the onset of winter, efforts now return to intercept smugglers trying to bring processed drugs out of Bolivia.

Despite all efforts, experts believe that at least several million pesos worth of drugs have been exported from Bolivia over the past six months. This represents a staggering sum in the tepid Bolivian economy, and much of this amount has been used to finance the private army of the country's drug lord, Inca Gomez de la Vega, which is now believed to number over three thousand men, complete with a number of mercenary-piloted aircraft.

According to the reports by the Bolivian government, which is slowly starting to take action against de la Vega's holdings, workers on the drug plantations are usually poor regional farmers forced to work on the drug plantations, often against their will. Many of the workers are intentionally given borandis to addict them to the drug, whereupon they may trade labor for drugs to keep from falling into withdrawal. The cultivation itself takes up to six times as many laborers as subsistence agricultural crops, and three times as much water. The Bolivian government's efforts to unseat the drug trade are hindered due to several factors, the most significant being that borandis production is not specifically illegalized. Bolivian efforts have largely focused on prosecuting other coincident crimes, but even this has been difficult, as the Bolivian government's finances are still in poor shape. Despite the hostility between Chile and Bolivia, it is known that some Chileans have started working in Bolivia, serving as liaisons and governmental advisors.

April 16
Sources within the Chilean government have confirmed that, if the privatization of the Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado goes according to current expectations, the Chilean government may be willing to follow it with privatization of other government-held organizations.

April 17
The city of Puerto Montt (enjoyed / suffered) the performance of fity-two bagpipers of the Puerto Montt Piper Regiment. The group, formed in 1939 from amongst the city's ethnic Scottish population, has begun performing in the city's civic ceremonies, to the (delight / horror) of the populace.

April 19
The F4E Corsair was cleared for carrier service again today after Naval pilots finished a series of tests aboard CNS Chiloe. ENAER is in the process of upgrading all F4E-1 models to the F4E-2 standard. The F4E-2 incorporates a bubble canopy, new landing gear, and a stall strip on one of the wings, designed to eliminate the problems which have vexed F4E pilots in carrier service. Similar problems have hindered the US Navy's adoption of the Vought F4U, and ENAER consulted closely with Chance-Vought in the development of the modifications. Current production aircraft coming out of ENAER are now all built to the F4E-2 standard.

May 9
Experts of the Chilean Navy observed today the first flight of the British Blackburn B.44 flying-boat fighter. The Navy has reportedly been interested in the aircraft, originally to be developed jointly by Britain and Germany, but the project has seen difficulties with the withdrawal of German interest. Some uncertainty still remains about whether or not the British will complete the aircraft's development, or if the Navy will purchase it.

May 27
The coast defense ship Almirante Gideon was officially decommissioned and handed over to the Argentine Navy today.

May 28
The decommissioned destroyer Guardia Marina Gonzales was expended as a target today, being sunk by the submarine CNS Flach.

May 30
The LSI(M) Ministro Zentento was launched today at Valparaiso.

June 3
The Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María has announced that it has opened negotiations to purchase a Z3 computer from Germany's Conrad Zuse.

June 4
The Chilean Army lost a court case brought against them by a Bolivian national, Mr. Rodrigo Munoz, who has alleged that the Chilean Army has held his brother, Colonel Alfredo Munoz, in a secret prison without trial since early 1937. The Chilean Army has denied the claim, but investigation by journalists has cast serious doubt on the credibility of the Army's denials.

The court mandated that the Army release all classified information regarding Colonel Munoz to prove that he is not being secretly imprisoned.

The Bolivian government, meanwhile, has tried Colonel Munoz in absencia for treason, conspiracy, kidnapping of a government official, incitement to rebellion, extrajudicial executions, and a variety of other charges stemming from his stint as the warlord ruling western Bolivia following the 1936 Cochabombas Earthquake. Many foreign journalists believe that Colonel Munoz was captured by Chilean paratroopers in the 1937 raid which freed Bolivian President Stiles, who Munoz kidnapped in a bid to take over the Bolivian government. If this is the case, then Rodrigo Munoz's lawsuit will likely result in the Colonel's extradition to Bolivian custody, rather than his release.

No information was immediately released by the Chilean Army, which merely stated that they had to "find and research all materials on Colonel Munoz in order to comply with the court's order."

In the February 19th Chilean news paragraph five, I mentioned the Special Labour Brigade. This is a further article on that organization.



[SIZE=3]The Special Labour Brigade[/SIZE]
The Special Labour Brigade is an organization founded in Santiago in 1936 by a group of three Chilean Army officers: Capitan Gustavo Vargas, Chaplain Joaquin Kaiser, and Capitan Antonio Marai. Kaiser, a Catholic priest, spent much of his career as a military chaplain ministering to soldiers. During the Andean War, Kaiser served as one of the chaplains at the Talca prisoner of war camp, which held captured Bolivian troops, and from 1934 to 1936 he served as the chaplain of the Chilean Military Prison in Colina [1], which through the 1930s also served as the main prison for the Santiago Region. During this time at Colima, Kaiser developed a passion for helping prisoners and former prisoners, whether they were incarcerated by the military or by the civil government. Kaiser saw the difficulties many convicted criminals faced upon their release from prison, and the hardships often faced by their families. As many of the men came from extremely poor backgrounds with little education, their job prospects on release were often quite grim.

In 1936, Kaiser befriended Capitan Gustavo Vargas, a Chilean Protestant [2] who had been assigned to Colima to help oversee the prison. Vargas, originally a military engineer by trade, was distressed by much of what he saw in his new assignment, with prison overcrowding, barely sufficient food, poor sanitary conditions, and prisoners given very little in the way of activities outside their cells, with exercise limited to only fifteen minutes per day. This held true whether the inmates were convicted of violent or nonviolent crimes, and Kaiser and Vargas determined together to seek prison reform.

As part of their goal, Kaiser and Vargas considered alternatives to incarceration, seeking a means to provide both for social justice while giving the prisoners a chance to rebuild their lives after completing their prison sentence. In May 1936, Vargas gave a tour of the Colima prison to his friend and fellow evangelical Capitan Antonio Marai, and after the tour, Marai suggested the first ideas for what would become the Special Labour Brigade.

Marai noted that it was economically inefficient to confine the prisoners in overcrowded prisons, forcing the state to pay for the prisoner's incarceration, particularly when there was a demand for laborers for reconstruction projects in occupied Bolivia. Marai suggested that prisoners be allowed to join a voluntary organization which would teach them job skills and employ them in the construction business for a modest wage. The organization, which Marai initially called the "Prison Labour Construction Battalion", would maintain security on the prisoners, as well as giving food and lodging on the construction site. Any wages the prisoners earned as a result of their work would be returned to help support their families. Participating prisoners would also have the ability to continue working for the organization for a living wage after their prison term ended, allowing them the chance to re-integrate with society. As a further condition, participating inmates would be required to attend religious studies.

Kaiser, Vargas, and Marai thus formed their initial organization in June 1936, and began petitioning for Chilean government approval. This process dragged out for over two years, although it did gain some support from several junior members of the Chamber of Deputies. Few government leaders at that time saw the necessity of conducting prison reform, as most felt that the harsh conditions of the prisoners' incarceration was part of the justice the state needed to exact for crime. However, in 1938 one of the sympathetic deputies, Edmond Vizcarra, was elected as President of Chile, and appointed another of the sympathic deputies, Eleuterio Grisell, as Minister of Justice. Government approval followed shortly thereafter, and the organization was formed as the Special Labour Brigade.

The Special Labour Brigade started work in January 1939, with seventeen volunteer prisoners, all of whom were convicted of non-violent crimes, and six guards. Initial projects included building packed-earth houses in Chilean Bolivia, using a design created by Marai. The packed-earth houses soon became one of the Special Labour Brigade's specialties, as the design was particularly easy and inexpensive to construct, a key issue in the extremely impoverished regions of Bolivia. Civilian construction companies have copied the design, often sending their foremen to learn the construction techniques from the Special Labour Brigade.

By the middle of 1941, the Brigade grew substantially to several thousand inmates and guards, and the Chilean Ministry of Justice admitted that the organization cost the government significantly less money to run per prisoner than comparable prisons, despite the fact that conditions for prisoners are significantly better. This is due to the Special Labour Brigade's ability to offset their own operations costs through construction work, as well as the donations of a number of religious charitable organizations, both evangelical and Catholic. As of 1941, the Special Labour Brigade employed approximately seven percent [3] of the country's total penal population.

Service with the Special Labour Brigade is strictly voluntary, and if participants determine they no longer wish to participate, they can return to a regular correctional facility by request. The Special Labour Brigade offers a number of material benefits, including better housing, a significantly better nutritional program, and a basic working wage. Prisoners with dependents (spouses or children) receive a wage capable of supporting them. In many cases, prisoners who participated in the Special Labour Brigade have received the opportunity to return as foremen after their sentence was completed, with wages comparable to regular foremen elsewhere.

Part of the Special Labour Brigade's success has been their ability to recruit prisoners for participation. In the earliest days of the program, recruitment started with a network of prison chaplains organized by Joaquin Kaiser. The chaplains recommended the program to prisoners who wanted to turn their lives around, as it would provide the men with "honest work for an honest wage", as well as further association with like-minded individuals. According to Capitan Vargas: "The prisoners who come to the Special Labour Brigade have been convicted of their wrongs not by a judge in a courtroom, but by their own conscience in their hearts. That is why we work so closely with prison chaplains around the country, as these people are ministering to prisoners who have come to realize what their choices in life have cost themselves and their families, and want to take responsibility for their lives. If they were left to their own devices, they might be released in a few years just to be shunned by the society that has punished them, and tempted to slip back into the same old behavior that got them their prison sentences in the first place. Our goal is not to tempt prisoners to join us for better food, lodging and money, but to treat them with a mixture of both justice and mercy."

Despite the Special Labour Brigade's growth and success, some still are skeptical or opposed to the organization. Many opponents have noted that prisoners often have a standard of living higher than many of the poorest people in Chile, and have argued that the privation and harsh conditions of most Chilean prisons ought to be part of the goal of the justice system. A number of other complaints have been lodged over the religious participation in the Special Labour Brigade's organization, arguing that the group should not "thrust religion down the throats of prisoners as a prerequisite for participation." A number of construction workers' unions have additionally protested the use of cheap penal labour, which they claim undercuts their own attempts to do business. Primarily for this reason, however, the Special Labour Brigade has concentrated its work in Chilean Bolivia and particularly impoverished regions of Chile, where relatively few other construction companies compete for jobs, or where the Special Labour Brigade is used in direct competition with the Chilean Army's military engineering troops.

Marai and Vargas continue to be actively involved in leading the Special Labour Brigade, although Kaiser left the organization in March 1941 in order to start a similar organization to minister to violent offenders who are not eligible for work in the Special Labour Brigade.


Notes
[1] Colina is a town north of Santiago.
[2] As I noted in my 1940 summary, Protestantism (or Evangelicalism) in Chile is not the dominant religious movement (Catholicism is the majority religion), but it is a substantially more healthy one. While vastly more Chileans claim Catholic beliefs, there are as many practicing Evangelicals as there are practicing Catholics.
[3] Roughly 3,850 individuals.

This is an interesting approach to the problems faced by Chile. It seems well adapted to both the cultural and economic conditions the country faces.

I am not certain whether it is a model that could be exported. While compulsory labor service of one type another was a feature of the 1930s and 1940s, it usually did not involve penal elements. The cooperation between different denominational elements is also likelier for South America as elsewhere. The concern expressed by organized labor is valid - misused, such a program could easily expand to union busting.

I tend to think it could, in fact, be exported - provided the people doing so maintained the formula for success.

I'm admittedly rather biased in this particular area, as I grew up regularly reading articles and books by Chuck Colson, who is a proponent of Christian prison reform. While it's not a topic I feel highly passionately about, I am interested in the ways a country's criminal justice system deals with criminals, and how religious groups deal with those issues. While I'm a firm believer in Truth-Law-and-Justice and punishing offenders, I have to square that with my personal religious convictions regarding grace and mercy, as well as the purely practical concerns about how best to punish criminals, and how to prevent recidivism. With that in mind, I think that punishing crime is only one half of the equation a government's justice system needs to provide; the other half of the equation is re-training the criminal to re-enter society in such a way that he will be a contrite, functioning citizen again. I feel the first half - punishment - is a role the government is highly suited to provide, but the second half is not in the government's lists of strengths. Hence why the Special Labour Brigade is not a governmental organization.

It's an interesting topic, at least, because - whether most of us acknowledge it or not - civil justice is one of the foundational roles of governments, if not *the* foundational role; and it's one of the topics we don't usually explore deeply in this sim.

Quoted

Originally posted by Brockpaine

It's an interesting topic, at least, because - whether most of us acknowledge it or not - civil justice is one of the foundational roles of governments, if not *the* foundational role; and it's one of the topics we don't usually explore deeply in this sim.

I found mentally grappling with trying to devise ruling structures for the Kongo and DEI part of the interest. Certainly dealing with the criminal code in relation to culture falls in the same category.

I also wonder what effect common expectations for life's conditions has to do with a society's view of 'just' treatment for criminals. Caring for criminals takes resources, trying to reform them does as well, both taking a more wealthy and indulgent society.

Quoted

Originally posted by Kaiser Kirk
I also wonder what effect common expectations for life's conditions has to do with a society's view of 'just' treatment for criminals. Caring for criminals takes resources, trying to reform them does as well, both taking a more wealthy and indulgent society.

Mmm, I'd agree with that statement within the scope of it, but I'd also argue to include morality and religion there as a possible substitute for wealth and indulgence. That moral-religious aspect would have something to do with what you said about 'common expectations for life's conditions', I feel. While I don't want to delve too heavily into possible real-life political issues, I think that to some extent, wealthy and indulgent societies have often done more harm than good through pursuing some certain types of prison reform - making feel-good changes that do not address the basic problems they ought to deal with.

June 6
In response to the decision by Chilean courts in Munoz vs. the Ejercito de Chile, the Chilean Army admitted they imprisoned former Bolivian warlord Colonel Alfredo Munoz following his disappearance sometime in 1937, an event attributed to a secret operation by the Chilean paratroops. The Army's press release noted that "Munoz was not the target of any Chilean operations, and his imprisonment by the Ejercito de Chile was short-term until a proper solution could be found." According to the Chilean Army, Munoz was handed over to the Republic of Bolivia in early 1938, but in 1939, Munoz was tried in absencia by the Bolivian government on charges of high treason, leading an armed rebellion, and other serious charges, receiving the death penalty.

There was no immediate response from the Bolivian government, but Mr. Rodrigo Munoz, the Colonel's brother, alleged that the revelations made by the Chilean Army were "patently ridiculous lies, intended to cover up their continued complicity in the secret imprisonment of another country's citizens".

June 9
In response to the growing "Munoz Scandal", the Bolivian government broke silence and admitted that the Chilean Army handed over Colonel Alfredo Munoz to the Bolivian government on May 7th, 1938, whereupon he was held in custody by the Bolivian Army. The Bolivian government planned to put him on trial, but within weeks of his return to Bolivian territory, Munoz disappeared from his cell, and efforts to find him have since proven fruitless. The revelation, if true, comes as an embarrassment for the Bolivian government.

June 12
At 10:31 local time, seismologists in southern Chile reported an earthquake in the Aisen region of Chile. The quake was measured by seismologists using the recently-adopted Richter magnitude scale, being reported as a Richter 5.2 event. No known casualties are reported as of this time, but some light damage was reported in Puerto Aisen and the regional capital of Coihaique. The region is very lightly populated and experts predict that casualties will be low to minimal.

Following the initial reports of the earthquake, a Chilean Navy aircraft carrying out training flights in the region reported a "large volcanic-style cloud" in the region. Further investigations are underway.

June 13
Yesterday's R-5.2 earthquake in southern Chile has been conclusively linked to the eruption of the Cerro Hudson volcano, which continues erupting today. The mountain, named for a famous Chilean hydrographer of the 19th century, is remote and not well-studied, although aerial photographs of the glacier occurred last year. The Chilean military photographed the erupting volcano from the air and has requested the evacuation of the immediate region, although the eruption is not expected to cause major disruptions due to the remoteness of the area. A scientific group from the University of Chile is reportedly forming to study the relatively unknown volcano.

The earthquake recorded yesterday in the Aisen region has seen several injuries from falling objects or broken glass, but no deaths have been reported at this time. However, several aftershocks were reported, reaching 3.9 on the Richter scale. Although some property damage is recorded in Coihaique, most structures are designed to survive much larger earthquakes, and the damage appears limited to lightly constructed or elderly buildings. Although there was concern about reported tsunamis in the Pacific, Easter Island and French Polynesia reported sea level changes of no greater than twenty centimeters.

It is not known at this time if the eruption of Cerro Hudson was caused by the earthquake, or if the earthquake was a side-effect of the eruption.



Notes:
Note [1]: OOC, this is likely not an event of major international interest on anything but the scientific level. Some ash-fall could be recorded in Argentina (almost exclusively in unpopulated regions) and the Falkland Islands, but will probably not be highly notable even then. This is the sort of eruption+earthquake which takes place many times a year on average; but such events rarely make our news.

"The Argentine government suggests all housewives in remote Andean regions don't hang out their washing for the next few days."

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
"The Argentine government suggests all housewives in remote Andean regions don't hang out their washing for the next few days."

Good idea, that. Otherwise farmer Juan's tighty whities will become farmer Juan's tighty blackies.

June 16
The eruption of Cerro Hudson continues today as a a number of scientists have started arriving to study the volcano from the air. The eruption has melted part of the glacier lying over the caldera, and appears to have caused at least one major lahar as a result.

Eruption + Glacier = bad.

Let's just hope that those scientists won't have to deal with something like this thundering their way.

June 19
Scientists continue studying the erupting Cerro Hudson volcano from the air, although a small team has walked overland to set up an observation post some miles away. The danger on the ground is known to be fairly significant due to the incidents of at least two major lahars caused by glacial runoff, and aerial observation appears to offer the safest way to study the eruption.

June 20
The Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María announced that they have purchased a German Z3 computer for an undisclosed sum. The computer, the first of its kind in South America, will be used by the UTFSM's engineering doctorate program, primarily in conjunction with the two cyclotrons used by the physics department. The University hopes to take delivery of the hand constructed, made to order computer sometime within the next year.

June 26
Austral Obras Mecánica unveiled their plans to construct several test engines fueled by natural gas.

June 30
Two famous French astronomers, Odette Bancilhon and Alfred Schmitt, have reportedly arrived in Chile on the liner Independencia to conduct a one-year study program at the Chajnantor Atacama Observatory Complex. According to the latest reports, development of the observatory complex continues unabated, and with the recent completion of a new 20m radio-telescope, and the start of construction on a newer, larger radio-telescope.

July 2
The eruption of the Cerro Hudson volcano is said to be diminishing in intensity, although a major lahar in the vicinity of the volcano, the third observed to date, indicated that there is still no small amount of danger due to the eruption.

July 7
Today the Ferrocarril Magallanes received all three ordered 2-8-2+2-8-2 Beyer-Garratt meter-gauge locomotives ordered from Société Franco-Belge. The locomotives were delivered to Punta Arenas by the MS CSAV Helsinki.

July 11
The heavy cruiser Constitucion and a number of support ships left Talcahuano today to conduct naval exercises. No further information is available at this time.

July 18
The destroyer leader (or frigate) Angamos was completed today at the ASMAR naval yards in Talcahuano. The ship will begin a series of sea-trials prior to its commissioning by the Chilean Navy.

July 24
Scientific observers have reported that the eruption of the Cerro Hudson volcano has largely ended.

July 26
The Chilean Navy's spokesman commented that a task force led by CNS Constitucion is homeward bound from the Atlantic Ocean after completing two days of underway replenishment exercises with the French Navy. The Armada's spokesman said the exercises went smoothly and were a substantial success.

July 29
The Chilean government has gifted a pie to all the ambassadors in Santiago. The pies are twenty centimeters across, weight 0.7 kilograms, and come in a variety of flavors.