Cuentos Chinos (Spanish Edition) [Paperback]

Andres Oppenheimer (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 29, 2005

Con su habitual lucidez, Oppenheimer analiza la realidad actual y de los próximos años en América Latina, a la luz del ejemplo de los llamados países emergentes de los últimos años: China, Irlanda, Polonia, República Checa, entre otros. El autor busca descubrir quién presenta un panorama realista de los próximos veinte años y quién está contando “cuentos chinos”. Por un lado, los informes de la CNI (centro de estudios de la CIA a largo plazo) y de un alemán del Parlamento Europeo experto en A. Latina (Linkohr) que pintan un panorama desolador para la región; por el otro, los discursos optimistas de los gobernantes de estos países (Chávez, Fox, Kirchner) y de instituciones como la CEPAL. Para ello, recorre los países emergentes durante tres años y entrevista a los actores más relevantes del futuro latinoamericano (desde Rumsfeld y Roger Noriega hasta Evo Morales pasando por Fernando Henrique Cardoso y los presidentes de México, Argentina, Perú, Colombia, Venezuela y Chile, además de gente común, como ascensoristas chinos o taxistas polacos). Sus conclusiones son reveladoras, ya que si bien los informes antes mencionados resultan acertados como diagnósticos del presente, el autor se muestra asombrado por la rapidez con que ciertos países de características previas muy similares a las nuestras pudieron pasar de la pobreza y la desesperanza a la riqueza y el dinamismo. Es, definitivamente, un libro para desactivar prejuicios.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sudamericana (November 29, 2005)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 0307347990
• ISBN-13: 978-0307347992
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 6.1 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Libros en espańol > No-Ficción > Ciencias Sociales > Antropología
  • #25 in Books > Libros en espańol > No-Ficción > Ciencias Sociales > Ciencias Políticas
  • #28 in Books > Libros en espańol > Negocios e inversiones > Economía

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars En respuesta a MADC "mdiaz" June 19, 2006

By P. Ramos

Format:Paperback

Estimado opinador:

Permítame que respetuosamente discrepe de algunas de sus aseveraciones en su crítica a "Cuentos Chinos" de Andrés Oppenheimer. Pienso que este libro promueve EXACTAMENTE el mensaje que America Latina debe leer y asimilar, so pena de quedarse inevitablemente en el oscurantismo economico en pleno siglo XXI. Es verdad que, como usted dice, este no es un texto tecnico o riguroso desde el punto de vista macroeconomico. Dudo que esa haya sido la intencion de Oppenheimer, quien es un periodista y relator, mas que un tecnologo de ciencias economicas. Su prosa amena y anecdotica tiene como finalidad llegarle al comun de los lectores interesados, no aisladamente al aparatchnik academico.

Oppenheimer SI menciona, en varias ocasiones, que la apertura total no es necesariamente la receta ideal. De hecho, en su demostracion de el exito alcanzado por China hace manifiesto el hecho que esta economia ha tenido exito abriendose poco a poco, y sin abandonar el ferreo control estatal en las areas que le interesan.

Tambien menciona instancias en que paises han tenido exito al abrir sus economias, dandole la espalda a recomendaciones del FMI o el World Bank. (al no tener el libro a la mano, lamento no poder dar citas especificas, ni dar paginas).

El mensaje mas importante que el libro da, y que es necesario que los latinoamericanos captemos, es que las vias populistas, izquierdosas y paternalistas representan una vision retrograda (CEPALista) de la cual nuestros paises no han podido zafarse, y que, al igual que un ladrillo encadenado al cuello, representan un lastre que impide el surgimiento de nuestras economias en el ambito de las naciones....

El anti-americanismo a ultranza que su comentario pareciera proponer, forma parte del problema latinoamericano. Estados Unidos, como cualquier pais del mundo, velara SIEMPRE por sus propios intereses primero que los de los vecinos. (Usted cree que la Union Sovietica no era asi?) A sabiendas de este hecho, Los paises que, por su situacion geografica estan en el area de influencia del coloso del norte TIENEN QUE lograr establecer solidos acuerdos de desarrollo con los Estados Unidos, que por un lado impidan que este gigante atropelle nuestros intereses, pero por el otro lado, que nos permita abrir nuestra influencia a un mercado pudiente de 270 millones de personas, para poder comerciar con algo mas que economias extractivas, o rubros agricolas.

Si el libro no menciona, como usted dice, el intervencionismo norteamericano en el pasado de nuestras naciones, es precisamente porque esa es la mentalidad NO PRODUCTIVA que hay que colocar a un lado si queremos crecer como paises. Olvidemonos de los rencores del pasado, que solo sirven a los politicos para ganar votos populistas! Vamos a seguir llorando por lo de Chiquita banana en centroamerica, y la explotacion Americana del cobre en Chile, del hierro y el petroleo en Venezuela, etc. etc.? Hasta cuando?

Compare usted a Chile, a Costa Rica o incluso al beneficio que Mexico ha obtenido de NAFTA, con la retorica primitiva y atrasante de un Evo Morales o un Hugo Chavez, que basan el exito de sus estrategias en la circunstancia siempre cambiante de los precios energeticos y en la ignorancia y atraso de sus respectivas audiencias.

La senda hacia el desarrollo esta llena de dificultades, entre las que se cuentan extraer y eliminar la "cultura del subdesarrollo" tan predominante en nuestras naciones, combatir la corrupcion a todos los niveles, y acabar con el nacionalismo a ultranza, que aisla y atrasa a las naciones. "Cuentos Chinos" muestra de una manera sencilla y amena, como paises anteriormente acosados por males similares, han logrado sobreponerse a ellos y estan compitiendo en las "grandes Ligas" de la economia mundial. Este libro no tiene desperdicio, y lo recomiendo sin reservas. Read more ›

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The TRUTH about Latin America today December 1, 2005

By Bernardo Benes

Format:Paperback

I just finished Cuentos Chinos. A a veteran Latin Americanits going back to the beginning of the 60's I find that Latin America has stayed behind of other regions of the World- Europe and Asia. Poverty has kept at an intolerable rate of 42%. The massive fleeing of capital- $ 400,000 Million- most of the time hidden- shows total lack of confidence by their own business community. The worst part is the need for a major investment for education. Oppenheiomer leaves the door open for some poor countries to copy China, Ireland, Singapure and Botswana who made it very fast through education.Oppenheimer has done a very serious research with his traveling and interviews.he has shown courage when discussing crime rates in different areas. Mor policeman killed last year in the City of Rio de Janeiro than in all U.S.. Most of his findings are on the dot. Dr. Bernardo Benes- SURFISDE, FL.- 305-785-7028

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars is a great read!!! February 20, 2006

By F. Bianchi

Format:Paperback

Cuentos Chinos" is a great read, and makes an extraordinary contribution to current writings on Latin America. While most other authors compare Latin America's present to its past, Andres Oppenheimer compares its current situation with that of China, India, Eastern Europe and Ireland. Throughout the book, Oppenheimer tries to answer a key question: Why are countries like China and India succeeding in reducing poverty, and Latin America not? To find out, he takes us to China, and tells us through interviews with government officials, business people and academics, how China is ironically much more "capitalist" than Latin America. Among many examples, the author points out that while China is teaching compulsory English to all schoolchildren starting at 3rd grade, countries such as Mexico and Argentina are teaching English starting at 7th grade, two hours a week. "Cuentos Chinos" makes a compelling case that Latin American countries must become more competitive in the global economy, or they will fall farther behind.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars He either sees the forest rather than the tress or prefer to focus April 14, 2006

By Avantel

Format:Paperback

Yeah, this is a very good book and I agree with the past reviews. I am from Mexico so I have some idea about what Andres O. (AO) wrote on Mexico and his mistakes and good points could be extended to his whole book somehow.

AO didn't write about the biggest white-collar fraud in Mexico in the last decade: the FOBAPROA. Most of the Mexican media have remained quite silent about this fraud and most of the population is totally ignorant about this problem, even those who read the news. I am not well informed either, but let me summarize it: Mexico had serious crisis in 1995 and many banks were about to go bankrupt, thus the government has been giving them money until now. The problem is that many banks got in trouble because of their own corrupt practices, sort of Enron type. Today the Mexican banks are booming and have the best of two worlds: the independence of private companies, and the fat money from governments. "Our" banks barely, if ever, loan money to people to start business, their customer service is terrible (it's normal to wait at least half an hour in queues) and they charge commissions for every single things you do with them. They are worse parasites of society than people on welfare; at least this is how many Conservatives regard poor people who happen to need government help.

Second, AO only criticized the public universities, which is a very popular practice in here. But he left alone the private ones whom I know by personal experiences that are plain terrible. Their basic flaw in these schools at all levels is that they do pay too much attention to consumer service -unlike the banks- in the sense that it's students who rule in those schools.... If they don't like a teacher he simple gets fired, and it seems this problems is worst in the most arrogant of these junk colleges: Tec de Monterrey (ITESM). Examples:

Eduardo Sojo is an ITESM graduate and top government official. Around June 2005 he explained Mexico's situation to several international economists (such as Nobel Prize winner Lawrence Klein) with hats of different colors rather than using advanced statistics. Some journalist poked fun at his superficiality but these guys are really basic, even when Eduardo might hold a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. I gave them a class on thermodynamic one time and they wanted me to explain terms like energy with fancy drawings like fires, seriously. But they did clarify that it's the students who evaluate the professors and can dismiss him really quickly. No wonder ITESM perennially recruits professors. Next, their graduates take on manager positions in both a failed Mexican government, and in companies which are being wiped out by foreign competition.

All in all, the Mexican private companies and businesspeople cannot be looked up, despite the fact they consider themselves great. I do believe that the upper class in Mexico keeps this nation poor and expelling its population abroad, especially USA as everybody knows.

However, AO did show the many mistakes from the current Mexican presidency which is lead by affluent people, the same types as the bankers and graduated from private schools. So therefore, AO didn't focus in two important groups of the Mexican riches but rather on how they have governed Mexico now for first time in about 75 years. These people had complained bitterly about the government for all those years and in 2000 they finally took over the presidency...with disappointing results for Mexico.

Let's say that AO watched the forest rather than trees with good final analyses. Or perhaps he prefered to do the opposite and focused on a few topics from each country in order to explain bigger areas. His search reached a good level of insight while being easily readable at the same time. It was a nice reading for me. Read more ›