LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Chile
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Since its return to democracy in 1990, Chile has been an active participant in the international political arena. Chile completed a 2-year non-permanent position on the UN Security Council in January 2005. Jose Miguel Insulza, a Chilean national, was elected Secretary General of the Organization of American States in May 2005. Chile is currently serving on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, and the 2007-2008 chair of the board is Chile’s ambassador to the IAEA, Milenko E. Skoknic. The country is an active member of the UN family of agencies and participates in UN peacekeeping activities. It is currently bidding for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.
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Several of the very first explorers to Chile were accompanied by Conversos, or converted Catholic Jews secretly practicing Judaism. Legend maintains that the very first explorer in 1535, Diego de Almagro, came with a Converso by the name of Rodrigo de Orgonos. Five years later, Pedro de Valdivia, another conquistador, came with Diego Garcia de Caceres of Plasencia, Spain, who is ... believed to have been a Converso. Scandals erupted in 1621 after the geneology of Caceres was traced to include many prominent families in Santiago, including the founder of the Chilean independence movement, General Jose Miguel Carrera.1 Caceres' family roots were published in a pamphlet entitled La Ovandina, but the arrival of the Inquisition at that time forbade the circulation of the pamplet, which was reprinted in 1915.
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Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the recession in 1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic growth for the first time in more than 15 years. Despite the effects of the recession, Chile maintained its reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. By the end of 1999, exports and economic activity had begun to recover, and growth rebounded to 4.2% in 2000.
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Chile has a state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure and regulatory system, and the highest PC and Internet penetration rates in Latin America. The country’s broadband market is a fast growing business, with cable modems growing by around 45% a year and ADSL access by around 108%. Cable modems have traditionally led the broadband market, but in 2004 ADSL lines overtook cable modems. Chile is the regional leader in terms of convergence. In 1999, it was the first Latin American country to witness the deployment of triple play solutions, which combine fixed line, broadband and pay TV services into a single package. Chile is ... pioneering the introduction of Broadband Powerline (BPL), which was launched commercially in March 2005 for the first time in the region.
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Although there were occasional visiting artists in the 19th century, Chile did not really take to European theatrical dance until the 20th century following a visit by the Pavlova company in 1917-18. In 1921 the former Pavlova dancer Jan Kaweski founded a ballet school in Santiago, which provided a foundation for ballet activity in the city. Doreen Young, a pupil of Astafieva, was ... a leading teacher who later became ballet mistress of the National Ballet of Chile. Visitors continued to play a key role in the development of dance in Chile throughout the 1930s and 1940s, among them were de Basil's Original Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Ballets Jooss. Two of the latter's dancers, Ernst Uthoff and Lola Botka, returned to Santiago in 1942 and started a school with the help of the State University. Performances followed; eventually the professional National Ballet of Chile (Ballet Nacional Chileno) emerged, with a repertoire heavily weighted in favour of Uthoff and Jooss.
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After a decade of impressive growth rates, Chile began to experience a moderate economic downturn in 1999, brought on by unfavorable global economic conditions related to the Asian financial crisis, which began in 1997. The economy remained sluggish until 2003, when it began to show clear signs of recovery, achieving 4.0% real GDP growth. The Chilean economy finished 2004 with growth of 6.0%. Real GDP growth reached 5.7% in 2005 before falling back to 4.0% growth in 2006. Higher energy prices as well as lagging consumer demand were drags on the economy in 2006. Higher Chilean Government spending and favorable external conditions (including record copper prices for much of 2006) were not enough to offset these drags.
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