As if we hardly need reminding that Chile's controversial pension reforms were the focal point of protests at the heart of the civil unrest or "estallido social". This has been particularly incendiary in Chile with the AFP's origins dating back to the Pinochet dictatorship. 

Chile has always seemed like the Switzerland of Latin America, routinely topping regionally adjusted league tables, but obviously it was massively inequitable and the pension system bred particular resentment over time.  

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we speak to Nicholas Barr, Professor of Public Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of numerous books and papers on the welfare state including pensions and higher education finance. 

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