lunes y martes

Monday- went to the Central Bank of Chile!  We were treated to an exclusive entrance to meet with one of the board members in the very room where the members meet each month to discuss the interest rate and other economical matters.  Then we went to the Department of Justice to meet with a man who is presenting to Congress a plan for a different approach to Criminal Law (Chile currently runs two different criminal law systems, one remaining from the Pinochet era and now a new one)Photo: the very important room at CBC

Tuesday, oh, today!: had a lecture on the environmental issues of Chile and the effect on trade then we went to the Center for Justice of Santiago, including visiting an all-male low to medium level security prison.  The prison is for those who are awaiting their trials, and they can be held without a trial for 6 months to 2 years.  We walked through the cells and the courtyard full of the prisoners, in the unit for drug and sexual offenders.

After the prison we went to the offices of the public defender and prosecutors.  

The system is geared towards prosecutors and the defenders have only 5-10 minutes to meet and ask questions to each client before the first hearing because of the heavy case load- crazy.

Tomorrow Christin and I get to meet with a great businessman who is expanding to Chile, terrific!