CHILE: Disguised tensions

Carlos Lopez of Chile replies to the posting on the Chilean ballet:

"The ballet may continue, but the fact is that Chile has total freedom of the press, a dynamic, modern society with very little, if any, corruption. My own wife was surprised that our stay in Chile showed her a country much more modern, clean, organized, well supplied and with better public transportation than what we found in England or Madrid. The ballet, such as the Pinochet trial, the accusations against the judiciary system, the congressmen who want to live in Santiago and the new laws to control soccer crowds, are really part of the entertainment for the Chileans. It is better than ballet, it is comic opera to them."

My comment: I hope it is just a comic opera. We shall see.The experience of the journalist Alejandra Matus, who was forced to go into exile, suggest that the press has its problems.

Ronald Hilton - 1/07/01