Is Chile a Victim of its Own Success?

Patricio Navia was the guest speaker at the latest meeting of Foro Catalinas, which took place at CADAL’s headquarters, where he spoke about the challenges of populism in Chile. The Foro was sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Patricio Navia was the guest speaker at the latest meeting of Foro Catalinas, which took place at CADAL's headquarters, where he spoke about the challenges of populism in Chile. The Foro was sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

During his presentation, Patricio Navia emphasized that Chile's advance -- in respect to that of the rest of Latin America and Argentina -- has been significant, that since 1986 inequality in Chile has decreased more than in Argentina, and that the latter country is a roller coaster. In addition, he noted that Chile is headed in the correct direction, albeit too slowly, and thus he asked: "When will we pass from being a model country to being a country of unrest?" For Navia, since 1981 expectations have become more moderate, and Chile is far from its most pessimistic moments. However, he noted that there is an increasing fear of inflation - the worst enemy of any government, especially when there is a growing middle class - and affirmed that President Piñera has serious problems with his approval rating. Navia concluded with the following example: "Chile is like a recovering alcoholic. It cannot enter a bar" and finally warned that one cannot fool around with populism.

Patricio Navia received a Ph.D from New York University, Department of Politics, a Masters degree from the University of Chicago, Department of Political Science, and a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Political Science and Department of Sociology (with honors). He is an assistant adjunct professor of the Latinamerican Studies Center at New York University and a professor of political science at the Institute of Research in Social Science at Universidad Diego Portales. He is a columnist for the newspaper La Tercera (Chile) as well as for the Buenos Aires Herald (Argentina). Furthermore, he has authored several books, including "La república concertacionista," La Tercera/Planeta Publications, 2011; "El sismo electoral de 2009. Cambio y continuidad en las preferencias políticas de los chilenos" (edited with Mauricio Morales) Diego Portales University Publications, 2010; "El Díscolo. Conversaciones con Marco Enriquez-Ominami," Debate Publications, Santiago, 2009; "El genoma electoral chileno. Dibujando el mapa genético de las preferencias políticas en Chile" (edited with Renato Briceño and Mauricio Morales), Universidad Diego Portales Publications, 2009; "Que gane 'el más mejor': Merito y compentencia en el Chile de hoy (with Eduardo Engel) Santiago: Random House Mondadori, Debate, 2006 (three editions, 26 weeks on the best-seller/non-fiction list in Chile); "Las grandes alamedas: El Chile post Pinochet," Santiago: La tercera-Mondadori, 2004 (10 weeks as the best-seller, non-fiction in Chile). He has published articles in Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Democracy, and Democratization and Social Science Quarterly. In addition, he has contributed various chapters to edited books about politics in Chile and Latin America. In Spanish, he has published articles in Estudios Públicos, Revista de Ciencia Política, Perspectivas, Política y Gobierno (Mexico), and Anuario FLASCO. He won the "New Generation Leadership Forum" (NGLF) prize, sponsored by the Interamerican Development Bank, and in 2000 the newspaper El Mercurio mentioned him as one of the top 100 young leaders (under 30 years old). Finally, Navia is a member of CADAL's Academic Council.

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