Transparency of the Regulatory System Chilean regulatory systems tend to be very transparent. Government regulators have little discretion in many of their acts and very simple regulatory schemes tend to minimize discretion where it does exist. However, rulemaking processes are not transparent and do not generally include provision for public hearings or comment. Corruption U.S. firms have not identified corruption as an obstacle to foreign direct investment in Chile, and there is no indication that corruption is pervasive in any areas or sectors. International comparisons based on surveys of business people place Chile on a par with the U.S. with a corruption problem much less significant than that of most of its Latin American neighbors.
Bribery is illegal in Chile.
However, the legal regime for combating corruption is relatively undeveloped. The government has submitted legislation to Congress aimed at filling some of these gaps. Labor Chile has enjoyed generally calm labor relations since the return to democracy in 1990. Strikes have been few in the private sector, but public employees in health, education, and coal mining have held strikes in the last few years. Real wages have risen steadily in the last several years.