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Re: Argentine's elections

Ken:

I just want to add a comment to your posting. In the disccussion about "free
markets" I have seen there is an important (in my opinion) point nobody has
made so far: the difference between "a good investment" an d "a good
bussiness". A good investment- as I define it- does not only make profits but
it is able to create well paid jobs (because people increase their
productivity and so on) and allows the enterprise to "stay in the market"
despite the competence. That is, they look for "efficiency" in order to make
profits.

The privatization process seen in Mexico has only been "a good bussiness",
meaning a good way to get lots of profits in a short period of time.
Investors get monopolies and they are assured a "grace period" (before some
other companies enter the market). That's why they can't wait to recover
their "money invested" there and instead of building their own business they
look for partners to share the profits in order to avoid that "competence".
If competence finally shows up, they already have recovered their investment
and made a good amount of profits. Efficiency? They don't care! Customer
satisfaction? They don't care either!  See the case of TELMEX. What do
ordinary people have gained by the privatization of TELMEX? Nothing! Service
is expensive (and with fees authorized by the government) and bad. His owner
is then suddenly among the five richest in the world! How come? Many say it
is because he is the "prestanombres" of C. Salinas.
  
Yes, so many locations are now receiving the service but this is because
customers pay now higher prices than before (less than one year after been
privatized fees went up more than 90%, when inflation had been less than 25%,
so the money is coming from our pockets anyway!). The MASECA monopoly has
sent a lot of "molineros" to bankrupcy and now most of the "tortillas" have
to be made with "harina de maiz" instead. And lots more examples can be
found. The worst one will be PEMEX, if things continue on the same path.

 You and many other people like me- I guess- were waiting for that time in
which "competition finally makes its appearance to the market" and we all can
benefit from better service and fair prices. But I'm beginning to think this
is not going to be soon. And even worse, it might never take place!

                                              Jorge Raygoza
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