It is customary among neoliberal economists to praise Chile and consider it an economic model to aspire to. Moreover, in Bolsonaro's Brazil, it is increasingly common to hear praise of the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), who granted almost absolute power to a group of young economists – led by finance minister Sergio de Castro – to apply, already in the 1970s, the world's first major “neoliberal shock”.
Chile became a veritable laboratory for the neoliberal policy reforms advocated by the Chicago School, and its model was then exported elsewhere. However, in Brazil, the true story of this Chilean economic experience is often falsified, to induce a comparison that is entirely spurious, and a deception that is entirely ideological.
We will review, albeit very quickly, some important data from this period of history, starting with some elementary information that is nonetheless indispensable for those who intend to make comparisons between economies and between countries.
