Do not block, the country must move forward

The Office of the National Economic Prosecutor (FNE) reported last week that losses related to the current operation of the notarial system could reach nearly US $ 150 million per year. The FNE has described this system as inefficient, very expensive and lacking in innovation. Several legal reforms of the system have been presented. None has advanced. This situation may begin to change. The notary system was born to provide legal certainty for those who use their services. But, the existing conditions when Pedro de Valdivia appointed the first notary in Chile are very different from the current ones.

And yet, as the FNE points out, the system today is very similar to the one that existed at the time of the colony. To move forward, countries need to be perfected and modernized their economic institutions. The aim should be to strengthen the functioning of the economy, avoiding markets being dominated by players that limit competition and favor the entry of new technologies and innovative companies. . Why is it so complex to adapt economic institutions to the challenges of the environment and the need for greater competition in the markets? Because the interests are affected. And those who feel wronged will seek to block change.

Although, for society as a whole, the changes are a step forward. The notaries argued that the system is working properly and that changes to the institutionality would affect legal certainty. At the time, large-scale financial distribution was stubbornly opposed to various projects aimed at consolidating the information of debtors in the financial system, despite the fact that this change would have improved the conditions for debtors. access and credit of responsible households in their indebtedness. [19659002] Just like these, there are other examples of blockages that hinder progress in terms of productive development. What to do? An alternative is to create institutions that improve the quality of debate with evidence that demystifies the arguments that are used to avoid change and that, at the same time, make proposals to improve the functioning of the economy. In the past government, two institutions have been created that seek to fulfill these tasks: market research of the FNE and the National Productivity Commission (CNP).

And these institutions work. The evidence presented by the FNE in the preliminary report of the Notaries Market Study helps to demystify many of the arguments that have blocked the changes. This was not the only study. A FNE precedent has made proposals to refine the annuity system and an ongoing study is seeking to generate proposals to improve the drug market.

For its part, the CNP has carried out studies and proposals to increase mining productivity, strengthen vocational skills training and increase women's participation in the labor market.

And in his latest report, he makes a series of proposals to deal with the digital challenge, particularly in tax matters. The government should pay attention to the latter because it can allow it to give content to the discussion that triggered its announcement of taxes to the digital economy. And by the way, this would give a signal of continuity in the implementation of public policies, if this time it is different and do not try to start from scratch.P