The state of science in Chile

The most recent issue of Science Magazine, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, contains a letter from Chilean scientists decrying the lack of funding and support for research in the country.

The scientists, Pablo Astudillo, Carlos J. Blondel, Tomas Nrambuena and Katia Soto, writing on behalf of the organization Más Ciencia para Chile said Chile badly needed to update its science policies. They noted that Brazil and Argentina had Ministries of Science and that Peru was working on a new Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

“For years, Chile’s politicians and economists have talked about the need to increase scientific research to become a developed nation. However, indicators of governmental performance and research policy in Chile, especially when compared with other Organization for Economic Co-operation and  Development (OECD) countries—an organization that Chile has only recently joined—indicate poor performance in terms of investment, researchers, and even public promotion and attitudes to research,” the letter said.

The full text of the letter can be read here:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxjbGFhdmlsYXxneDo1M2I5ODhjMDMyYzA5YTM0&pli=1

And the web site for Más Ciencia para Chile

http://www.mascienciaparachile.cl/?page_id=1072