Chile: Political Systems and Economic Development

Faculty and Staff

Victor Tricot, Ph.D., Academic Director
Dr. Tricot was born in Ireland and lived there and in England until the age of 10 when he moved to Chile. He attended school in his hometown, Valparaíso, and later studied journalism at the University of Playa Ancha where he participated in many social and student organizations. Throughout those years, he became increasingly interested in Mapuche culture and the conflict existing in the south of Chile. After finishing his undergraduate studies in Chile, he traveled abroad and obtained a master’s degree in Latin American studies at the University of Salamanca in Spain. His focus was on Latin American politics, specifically social movements in South America. Dr. Tricot received his PhD in political science from the University of Salamanca, applying theories of social movements in order to understand the Mapuche movement in Chile and Argentina. His academic interests range from social movements to issues around political participation, formation of party systems, and political cleavages. He has lectured at conferences and seminars in Spain and in Chile and has participated in different academic projects, primarily those concerning the emergence in recent decades of indigenous peoples as political actors in Latin America.

Eduardo Urzua, Academic Coordinator
Mr. Eduardo Urzua is a political scientist and political consultant with experience in both Bolivia and Chile. While living in neighboring Bolivia, he conducted a widely viewed television program of interviews to politicians and social activists.

Lecturers for this program typically include:

Enzo Barra Almagia, Ph.D.
Dr. Barra has an undergraduate degree in political science and administration from the University of Chile. He earned his master's degree in political science with a specialization in international relations and comparative politics at the University of Waterloo, Canada and later received his Ph.D. at York University in Toronto, Canada.

He has developed his academic career teaching in different countries including Canada, Peru, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Chile. Since 1997 Dr. Barra has been a full-time professor in the Administration and Economy Faculty of the University of Santiago where he teaches international relations, regional development and planning, political science, and history of political institutions in Chile.
His publications include: “Globalization: Neither angel nor devil” in Diplomatic Corp Magazine (2002); “Globalization” in Ágora Magazine (2002); and “The Challenges of Administration in an Integrated World” (2003).

Manuel Riesco Larraín, Ph.D.
Dr. Larraín is a civil engineering professor at the University of Chile. He earned his master’s degree in industrial engineering with a minor in economics at the University of Chile and received his Ph.D. in political economy from the Social Science Institute in Moscow. He has worked as the external research coordinator for the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, since 2003 and is currently the vice president of the Centro de Estudios Nacionales de Desarrollo Alternativo (CENDA), Santiago. He has been a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme since 1999.

His publications include: Chile, Tras el Parto de un siglo. Una Mirada al Mundo desde la Izquierda de América Latina (2005: LOM Editions); Resultados Financieros en la Industria del Cobre (2002); Chile, Un Nuevo Esquema de Royalties e Impuestos para la Minería (2001: Cenda – Arcis); and Cien millones de trabajadores accionistas en el mundo:¿ Manipulación masiva o nuevo contrato social? (1998: Santiago: Manuel Riesco Editor).

Hugo Fazio Rigazzi
Hugo Fazio Rigazzi has been director of the Centro de Estudios Nacionales de Desarrollo Alternativo (CENDA) since 1985. He is an economist, emeritus professor at Universidad Arcis, and director of the Economy, State, and Management Department at Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano. He has taught macro and microeconomics courses in the Social Science Faculty at the University of Chile for over a decade. Between 1970 and 1973 he was vice president of the Central Bank of Chile and Chile’s representative in the Inter-American Development Bank.

A prolific author, Rigazzi has published the following books: Mapa Actual de la Extrema Riqueza en Chile (1997); El "Tigre" chileno y la crisis de los "Dragones" asiáticos (1998); La transnacionalización de la Economía chilena (2000); Lagos: El presidente "Progresista" de la Concertación (2006); and Chile en el período de las vacas gordas: Sus grandes beneficiarios (2007), among other publications.

Jorge Friedman, Ph.D.
Dr. Jorge Friedman is a commercial engineer who earned a master’s degree in economics at the University of Chile. He also holds a Ph.D. in economics, international economics and economic development from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Friedman is currently a full-time teacher in the economics department of the University of Santiago, director of the master of finance economics degree, and vice dean of investigation and development for the faculty of administration and economy at the University of Santiago. He is author of “Entrepreneur Income and the Surge in Inequality in Chile” (2007), and co-author of “The Impact of Minimum Wages on Income Distribution: The Case of the United States” (2006). Dr. Friedman has been a lecturer for our thematic seminar for five semesters, presenting classes about the Chilean economic model.

Patricio Aroca, Ph.D.
Dr. Patricio Aroca is a professor of economics at Catholic University of the North in Antofagasta, Chile, and a visiting associate professor at the University of Illinois. He earned his B.S. in business from the Austral University in Chile (1983) and an M.A. in economics from University of Chile (1987). He also completed an MSc in policy economics (1994) and a Ph.D. in economics (1995) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is specialized in econometrics, natural resources, and regional economics, and works specifically with input-output analysis, spatial econometrics, regional growth, and labor interregional migration. From 1997 to 2000, Dr. Aroca was dean of the faculty of economics and business at the Catholic University of the North.

Dr. Aroca is co-author (with G. J. D. Hewings) of the forthcoming article, “Migration and Regional Labor Market Adjustment: Chile 1977-1982 and 1987-1992,” and author of “Impacts and Development in Local Economies Based on Mining: The Case of the Chilean II Region” (2001). Dr. Aroca gives lectures about regional economic development to our students during the excursion to Antofagasta.

Jan Cademartori, Ph.D.
Dr. Jan Cademartori has been a lecturer at SIT for five years. He earned his master’s degree in economics and his Ph.D. in social sciences from the University of Louvain in Belgium. He also has a degree in commercial engineering from the Catholic University of Chile. Dr. Cademartori is currently a member of the Department of Economics of the Catholic University of the North in Antofagasta, Chile. His publications include "Development for the Regions of Chile and Proposals for the Development of the Antofagasta Region" (2004) and “Currency of the Dependent and Structural Perspective for Development” (2004).

Credits: 16

Duration: 15 weeks

Program Base: Chile, Santiago

Language Study: Spanish

Prerequisites: Coursework in economics, political economy, or development studies; 3 semesters Spanish Read more...