Elizabeth Lira
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199291922
- eISBN:
- 9780191603716
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199291926.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This paper describes the reparations programs implemented in Chile from 1990 to 2004. These programs target the victims of human rights violations committed during the military regime (1973-1990). ...
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This paper describes the reparations programs implemented in Chile from 1990 to 2004. These programs target the victims of human rights violations committed during the military regime (1973-1990). These include the relatives of the missing and executed persons; people who were dismissed from their jobs for political motives; peasants who participated in land reform and were expelled from the land for political reasons; and Chilean exiles returning to the country. Political prisoners and torture victims were considered only in 2003. The creation of the Commission for Political Imprisonment and Torture (2003-2005) was followed by a law which provides pensions to political prisoners and torture victims identified by the Commission. Created with different kinds of victims in mind, these programs were based on pensions, social services, educational benefits, and public recognition of the violations of the victims’ rights, monuments, sites of memory, and health assistance, mainly in the form of mental health services. The Program for Reparation and Integral Health Assistance for Victims of Human Rights Violations, created in 1991 and reinforced by a law at the end of 2004, has been the reparation measure for all kinds of victims of human rights violations, including third-generation relatives.Less
This paper describes the reparations programs implemented in Chile from 1990 to 2004. These programs target the victims of human rights violations committed during the military regime (1973-1990). These include the relatives of the missing and executed persons; people who were dismissed from their jobs for political motives; peasants who participated in land reform and were expelled from the land for political reasons; and Chilean exiles returning to the country. Political prisoners and torture victims were considered only in 2003. The creation of the Commission for Political Imprisonment and Torture (2003-2005) was followed by a law which provides pensions to political prisoners and torture victims identified by the Commission. Created with different kinds of victims in mind, these programs were based on pensions, social services, educational benefits, and public recognition of the violations of the victims’ rights, monuments, sites of memory, and health assistance, mainly in the form of mental health services. The Program for Reparation and Integral Health Assistance for Victims of Human Rights Violations, created in 1991 and reinforced by a law at the end of 2004, has been the reparation measure for all kinds of victims of human rights violations, including third-generation relatives.
Stephen J. Kay and Tapen Sinha (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226801
- eISBN:
- 9780191710285
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226801.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American ...
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Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American countries then followed suit, inspired both by Chile's reforms and by World Bank recommendations stressing compulsory government-mandated individual saving accounts. Individual accounts were subsequently introduced in a number of countries in Europe and Asia. Many are now re-evaluating these privatizations in an effort to ‘reform the reform’ to make these systems more efficient and equitable. This book assesses pension reforms in this new ‘post-privatization’ era. After a discussion on demographic trends in the foreword by Nobel laureate Robert W. Fogel, Section 1 of the book includes chapters on the role of pension system default options, the impact of gender, and a discussion of the World Bank's policies on pension reform. The chapter on the evidence from Chile's new social protection survey points to key lessons from the world's first privatization. Section 2 offers analysis of several significant reform initiatives in the hemisphere, and includes chapters on the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina.Less
Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American countries then followed suit, inspired both by Chile's reforms and by World Bank recommendations stressing compulsory government-mandated individual saving accounts. Individual accounts were subsequently introduced in a number of countries in Europe and Asia. Many are now re-evaluating these privatizations in an effort to ‘reform the reform’ to make these systems more efficient and equitable. This book assesses pension reforms in this new ‘post-privatization’ era. After a discussion on demographic trends in the foreword by Nobel laureate Robert W. Fogel, Section 1 of the book includes chapters on the role of pension system default options, the impact of gender, and a discussion of the World Bank's policies on pension reform. The chapter on the evidence from Chile's new social protection survey points to key lessons from the world's first privatization. Section 2 offers analysis of several significant reform initiatives in the hemisphere, and includes chapters on the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina.
Juan‐Pablo Montero
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195189650
- eISBN:
- 9780199783694
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189650.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This essay extends the theoretical model of Montero (2004) and applies it to Santiago, Chile's total suspended particulate (TSP) program to compare the actual performance of this program with that of ...
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This essay extends the theoretical model of Montero (2004) and applies it to Santiago, Chile's total suspended particulate (TSP) program to compare the actual performance of this program with that of a hypothetically equivalent standards policy. In doing so, the production and abatement cost characteristics of affected sources and the regulator's perception about environmental damages are first recovered. Based on these estimates, it is shown that permits have provided large cost savings but also lead to higher emissions; about 6% higher than what would have been observed under an equivalent standards policy. However, the welfare loss from higher emissions is only 8% of the welfare gain from lower abatement and production costs. The theoretical and empirical results make a strong case for the wider use of pollution permits, even in situations where emissions are imperfectly observed.Less
This essay extends the theoretical model of Montero (2004) and applies it to Santiago, Chile's total suspended particulate (TSP) program to compare the actual performance of this program with that of a hypothetically equivalent standards policy. In doing so, the production and abatement cost characteristics of affected sources and the regulator's perception about environmental damages are first recovered. Based on these estimates, it is shown that permits have provided large cost savings but also lead to higher emissions; about 6% higher than what would have been observed under an equivalent standards policy. However, the welfare loss from higher emissions is only 8% of the welfare gain from lower abatement and production costs. The theoretical and empirical results make a strong case for the wider use of pollution permits, even in situations where emissions are imperfectly observed.
Stephen J. Kay and Tapen Sinha
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226801
- eISBN:
- 9780191710285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226801.003.0002
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the introduction of a state-sponsored pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) pension system in Germany over a century ago, and pension reform in Latin American ...
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This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the introduction of a state-sponsored pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) pension system in Germany over a century ago, and pension reform in Latin American countries. It then considers the shift in the process of pension reform in organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and countries such as Chile, beginning in 2004. An overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.Less
This chapter begins with a brief discussion of the introduction of a state-sponsored pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) pension system in Germany over a century ago, and pension reform in Latin American countries. It then considers the shift in the process of pension reform in organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and countries such as Chile, beginning in 2004. An overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.
Alberto Arenas de Mesa, David Bravo, Jere R. Behrman, Olivia S. Mitchell, Petra E. Todd, Andres Otero, Jeremy Skog, Javiera Vasquez, and Viviana Velez-Grajales
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226801
- eISBN:
- 9780191710285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226801.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
This chapter introduces the Encuesta de Previsión Social (EPS, or Social Protection Survey), a recently developed longitudinal survey of individual respondents that provides invaluable new ...
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This chapter introduces the Encuesta de Previsión Social (EPS, or Social Protection Survey), a recently developed longitudinal survey of individual respondents that provides invaluable new information for microeconomic analyses of key aspects of the Chilean pension system, and illustrates some of the analyses possible with these data. Initiated in 2002, the EPS fielded a follow-up round in 2004; additional survey waves were scheduled for 2006 and every two years thereafter (funding permitting). In addition, the research team has worked to link respondent records to a wide range of historical administrative files on contribution patterns, benefit payments, and other program features. Among the findings is that participation rates are much higher with automatic enrolment in retirement plans than with opt-in enrolment. Many individuals view the employer default savings option as an implicit endorsement of both the contribution rate and the distribution of funds. Default choices are not neutral; they play a role in every stage of the lifetime savings cycle, including savings plan participation, contributions, asset allocation, rollovers, and decumulation.Less
This chapter introduces the Encuesta de Previsión Social (EPS, or Social Protection Survey), a recently developed longitudinal survey of individual respondents that provides invaluable new information for microeconomic analyses of key aspects of the Chilean pension system, and illustrates some of the analyses possible with these data. Initiated in 2002, the EPS fielded a follow-up round in 2004; additional survey waves were scheduled for 2006 and every two years thereafter (funding permitting). In addition, the research team has worked to link respondent records to a wide range of historical administrative files on contribution patterns, benefit payments, and other program features. Among the findings is that participation rates are much higher with automatic enrolment in retirement plans than with opt-in enrolment. Many individuals view the employer default savings option as an implicit endorsement of both the contribution rate and the distribution of funds. Default choices are not neutral; they play a role in every stage of the lifetime savings cycle, including savings plan participation, contributions, asset allocation, rollovers, and decumulation.
John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226801
- eISBN:
- 9780191710285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226801.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
If transaction costs are small, standard economic theory would suggest that defaults have little impact on economic outcomes. Agents with well-defined preferences will opt out of any default that ...
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If transaction costs are small, standard economic theory would suggest that defaults have little impact on economic outcomes. Agents with well-defined preferences will opt out of any default that does not maximize their utility, regardless of the nature of the default. In practice, however, defaults can have sizable effects on economic outcomes. This chapter summarizes the empirical evidence on defaults in savings outcomes, which strongly suggests that defaults affect savings outcomes at every step along the way. The different types of US retirement income institutions and some of their salient characteristics are described. Empirical evidence from the USA and other countries, including Chile, Mexico, and Sweden is presented on how defaults influence retirement savings outcomes at all stages of the savings life cycle, including savings plan participation, savings rates, asset allocation, and post-retirement savings distributions. The chapter then examines why defaults have such a tremendous impact on savings outcomes. Finally, it considers the role of public policy toward retirement saving when defaults matter.Less
If transaction costs are small, standard economic theory would suggest that defaults have little impact on economic outcomes. Agents with well-defined preferences will opt out of any default that does not maximize their utility, regardless of the nature of the default. In practice, however, defaults can have sizable effects on economic outcomes. This chapter summarizes the empirical evidence on defaults in savings outcomes, which strongly suggests that defaults affect savings outcomes at every step along the way. The different types of US retirement income institutions and some of their salient characteristics are described. Empirical evidence from the USA and other countries, including Chile, Mexico, and Sweden is presented on how defaults influence retirement savings outcomes at all stages of the savings life cycle, including savings plan participation, savings rates, asset allocation, and post-retirement savings distributions. The chapter then examines why defaults have such a tremendous impact on savings outcomes. Finally, it considers the role of public policy toward retirement saving when defaults matter.
Estelle James, Alejandra Cox Edwards, and Rebeca Wong
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226801
- eISBN:
- 9780191710285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226801.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
Over the past two decades many countries have adopted multipillar pension systems that include both a public DB and a private DC pillar. Critics of these pension reforms argue that the tight link ...
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Over the past two decades many countries have adopted multipillar pension systems that include both a public DB and a private DC pillar. Critics of these pension reforms argue that the tight link between payroll contributions and benefits in the DC pillar produce lower pensions for women. In contrast, supporters of these reforms argue that multipillar systems remove distortions that favour men and permit a more targeted public pillar that help women. This chapter examines the differential impact on genders of the new and old systems in Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. In all three cases, the new social security system includes two mandatory components: privately managed funded individual accounts (DC) and a publicly managed and financed safety net. Women accumulate retirement funds and private annuities from the DC pillar of the multipillar systems that are only 30-40% of those of men. This effect can be mitigated by introducing two critical elements into the new systems: (a) targeting the new public pillars toward low earners, because the majority of low earners are women, and (b) restricting payout provisions such as joint annuity requirements. With these modifications, total lifetime retirement benefits for women would reach 60-80% of those for men. For ‘full-career’ married women, they would equal or exceed benefits of men.Less
Over the past two decades many countries have adopted multipillar pension systems that include both a public DB and a private DC pillar. Critics of these pension reforms argue that the tight link between payroll contributions and benefits in the DC pillar produce lower pensions for women. In contrast, supporters of these reforms argue that multipillar systems remove distortions that favour men and permit a more targeted public pillar that help women. This chapter examines the differential impact on genders of the new and old systems in Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. In all three cases, the new social security system includes two mandatory components: privately managed funded individual accounts (DC) and a publicly managed and financed safety net. Women accumulate retirement funds and private annuities from the DC pillar of the multipillar systems that are only 30-40% of those of men. This effect can be mitigated by introducing two critical elements into the new systems: (a) targeting the new public pillars toward low earners, because the majority of low earners are women, and (b) restricting payout provisions such as joint annuity requirements. With these modifications, total lifetime retirement benefits for women would reach 60-80% of those for men. For ‘full-career’ married women, they would equal or exceed benefits of men.
Joseph E. Stiglitz, José Antonio Ocampo, Shari Spiegel, Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, and Deepak Nayyar
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199288144
- eISBN:
- 9780191603884
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199288143.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Although there is now a general recognition that capital market liberalization failed to help developing countries achieve economic growth and stability, there are still a number of unresolved ...
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Although there is now a general recognition that capital market liberalization failed to help developing countries achieve economic growth and stability, there are still a number of unresolved controversies, including the fundamental issue of what types of capital market interventions governments should undertake, and more centrally, whether there exist any interventions for which the benefits exceed the costs. Given the importance that capital account interventions can play in macroeconomic policy-making, this chapter analyzes alternative modes of regulations, including case studies of Chile, Colombia, and Malaysia. Though economists have a strong proclivity for price-based interventions (taxes and subsidies) over quantity-based interventions (administrative restrictions and controls), theoretical work in economics has shown that sometimes quantity-based restrictions can reduce risk more effectively than price interventions. In addition to direct forms of interventions, such as taxes and restrictions on inflows and outflows, interventions in capital markets can also take on a variety of indirect forms such as limiting banks’ short-term foreign borrowing or applying adverse tax or bankruptcy treatment to foreign-denominated borrowing. Though the regulations vary in their methods, they generally serve to segment (or separate) the domestic and foreign exchange markets. The chapter concludes with a number of arguments for and against the various modes of capital market intervention.Less
Although there is now a general recognition that capital market liberalization failed to help developing countries achieve economic growth and stability, there are still a number of unresolved controversies, including the fundamental issue of what types of capital market interventions governments should undertake, and more centrally, whether there exist any interventions for which the benefits exceed the costs. Given the importance that capital account interventions can play in macroeconomic policy-making, this chapter analyzes alternative modes of regulations, including case studies of Chile, Colombia, and Malaysia. Though economists have a strong proclivity for price-based interventions (taxes and subsidies) over quantity-based interventions (administrative restrictions and controls), theoretical work in economics has shown that sometimes quantity-based restrictions can reduce risk more effectively than price interventions. In addition to direct forms of interventions, such as taxes and restrictions on inflows and outflows, interventions in capital markets can also take on a variety of indirect forms such as limiting banks’ short-term foreign borrowing or applying adverse tax or bankruptcy treatment to foreign-denominated borrowing. Though the regulations vary in their methods, they generally serve to segment (or separate) the domestic and foreign exchange markets. The chapter concludes with a number of arguments for and against the various modes of capital market intervention.
Alexandra Barahona de Brito
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198280385
- eISBN:
- 9780191598852
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280386.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This book analyses the Uruguayan and Chilean experiences with the transitional politics of truth and justice regarding past human rights violations. These policies are shaped by the legacy of ...
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This book analyses the Uruguayan and Chilean experiences with the transitional politics of truth and justice regarding past human rights violations. These policies are shaped by the legacy of repressive rule, and the dynamics of the politics of transition and of the balance of power under the new democratic governments peculiar to each country. The issue is central to the politics of transition for ethical, symbolic, practical and political reasons: politically it is the most explosive transitional issue; on a practical level, only official acknowledgement can resolve pending legal questions for survivors and families of victims; ethically, it is hard to generate democratic consensus or social endorsement for social reform without involving principles and ideals that appeal to the underlying values and aspirations of the citizenry. Dealing with legacies of state repression permits the beginning of the process of ‘deconstruction of cultures of fear’ without which democratization cannot occur. This is not only desirable and necessary; some kind of truth telling policy has proved to be both required and feasible in a wide range of contemporary regime transitions. However, justice is not always possible: limitations on prosecutions are more self-imposed than 'structural', more political than institutional, and clearly there is a tension between the conditions necessary to ensure accountability and those that govern periods of transition. Unconsolidated democracies are not able to practise the politics of a consolidated democracy; the politics of consolidated democracies includes the capacity to call the powerful to account. This is perhaps the yardstick with which to measure consolidation. Instead of practising the politics of consolidated democracy, what these countries have to engage in is the politics of democratic consolidation. Although truth and justice policies may remain relevant after the transition and 'leak into' the politics of democratization, (where they can continue to be a source of conflict in the judicial system and of latent or overt painful and deep-seated social animosities), the resolution of the issue in the formal political arena can and does make it marginal in terms of day-to-day politics. Consolidation depends more crucially on the reform of key institutions that permitted abuse and impunity: the thorough reform of the judiciary and of the forces of repression. If a government does not undertake a proper reform of the institutions that made abuse and impunity possible, the democracy it presides over will be lame and incomplete.Less
This book analyses the Uruguayan and Chilean experiences with the transitional politics of truth and justice regarding past human rights violations. These policies are shaped by the legacy of repressive rule, and the dynamics of the politics of transition and of the balance of power under the new democratic governments peculiar to each country. The issue is central to the politics of transition for ethical, symbolic, practical and political reasons: politically it is the most explosive transitional issue; on a practical level, only official acknowledgement can resolve pending legal questions for survivors and families of victims; ethically, it is hard to generate democratic consensus or social endorsement for social reform without involving principles and ideals that appeal to the underlying values and aspirations of the citizenry. Dealing with legacies of state repression permits the beginning of the process of ‘deconstruction of cultures of fear’ without which democratization cannot occur. This is not only desirable and necessary; some kind of truth telling policy has proved to be both required and feasible in a wide range of contemporary regime transitions. However, justice is not always possible: limitations on prosecutions are more self-imposed than 'structural', more political than institutional, and clearly there is a tension between the conditions necessary to ensure accountability and those that govern periods of transition. Unconsolidated democracies are not able to practise the politics of a consolidated democracy; the politics of consolidated democracies includes the capacity to call the powerful to account. This is perhaps the yardstick with which to measure consolidation. Instead of practising the politics of consolidated democracy, what these countries have to engage in is the politics of democratic consolidation. Although truth and justice policies may remain relevant after the transition and 'leak into' the politics of democratization, (where they can continue to be a source of conflict in the judicial system and of latent or overt painful and deep-seated social animosities), the resolution of the issue in the formal political arena can and does make it marginal in terms of day-to-day politics. Consolidation depends more crucially on the reform of key institutions that permitted abuse and impunity: the thorough reform of the judiciary and of the forces of repression. If a government does not undertake a proper reform of the institutions that made abuse and impunity possible, the democracy it presides over will be lame and incomplete.
Alexandra Barahona de Brito
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240906
- eISBN:
- 9780191598869
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240906.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter examines how Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile fared with truth and justice policies after the transition from authoritarian rule, looking at the issue from an institutional and ...
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This chapter examines how Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile fared with truth and justice policies after the transition from authoritarian rule, looking at the issue from an institutional and political angle, and at the social politics of memory. Efforts to deal with the past and their significance in the overall politics of transition to democracy are shaped by country-specific historical conditions and developments: the nature and legacies of repression and authoritarian rule; and the nature of the transition process and the various political, institutional and legal factors conditioning the post-transitional period, among which are the nature of repression, the presence and strength of a human rights movement, inherited legal or constitutional limitations, relations between political parties and Human Rights Organizations (HROs), the degree of executive or party commitment to policies of truth and justice, the unity of democratic parties, the ability of the military to mobilise against any policies of accountability as well as their relations with the democratic executive, the attitude of the judiciary to past violations, the presence of a strong legislative right, and the degree to which repression penetrated the social fabric. The way in which the first democratically elected authorities deal with the past, together with the relative strength of the human rights movement in the post-transitional period, sets the agenda for the subsequent evolution of the issue; more specifically, the past remains a source of open conflict if there are loopholes in official policies that preclude full closure or amnesty, and if transnational groups or regional and international human rights bodies challenge national policies favouring impunity. The past also remains a source of conflict if there are strong HROs that continue to contest official decisions on how to deal with the past, and have allies in the formal political arena or the courts. Official policies to deal with the past are not of themselves directly relevant to the process of democratisation, and what is more, during the first transitional period, truth and justice policies are unrelated to (or may even place obstacles in the way of) wider institutional reform; the reverse is also true, but whatever the case, the past becomes part of the dynamic of democratic politics. Indeed, although the continued pursuit of truth and justice and its links to wider reforms may be difficult to establish across the board, the politics of memory more widely conceived are important for a process of democratization in all four countries examined here, as it is about how a society interprets and appropriates its past, in an attempt to mould its future, and as such it is an integral part of any political process, including progress towards deeper democracy.Less
This chapter examines how Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile fared with truth and justice policies after the transition from authoritarian rule, looking at the issue from an institutional and political angle, and at the social politics of memory. Efforts to deal with the past and their significance in the overall politics of transition to democracy are shaped by country-specific historical conditions and developments: the nature and legacies of repression and authoritarian rule; and the nature of the transition process and the various political, institutional and legal factors conditioning the post-transitional period, among which are the nature of repression, the presence and strength of a human rights movement, inherited legal or constitutional limitations, relations between political parties and Human Rights Organizations (HROs), the degree of executive or party commitment to policies of truth and justice, the unity of democratic parties, the ability of the military to mobilise against any policies of accountability as well as their relations with the democratic executive, the attitude of the judiciary to past violations, the presence of a strong legislative right, and the degree to which repression penetrated the social fabric. The way in which the first democratically elected authorities deal with the past, together with the relative strength of the human rights movement in the post-transitional period, sets the agenda for the subsequent evolution of the issue; more specifically, the past remains a source of open conflict if there are loopholes in official policies that preclude full closure or amnesty, and if transnational groups or regional and international human rights bodies challenge national policies favouring impunity. The past also remains a source of conflict if there are strong HROs that continue to contest official decisions on how to deal with the past, and have allies in the formal political arena or the courts. Official policies to deal with the past are not of themselves directly relevant to the process of democratisation, and what is more, during the first transitional period, truth and justice policies are unrelated to (or may even place obstacles in the way of) wider institutional reform; the reverse is also true, but whatever the case, the past becomes part of the dynamic of democratic politics. Indeed, although the continued pursuit of truth and justice and its links to wider reforms may be difficult to establish across the board, the politics of memory more widely conceived are important for a process of democratization in all four countries examined here, as it is about how a society interprets and appropriates its past, in an attempt to mould its future, and as such it is an integral part of any political process, including progress towards deeper democracy.
