“In 1981 Chile became the first country to privatize social security, ending the pay-as-you-go system that had been in place since 1924 and had collapsed. Now Chile’s left wants to resurrect it,” writes Center for Latin America Senior Fellow Axel Kaiser in The Wall Street Journal. The private pension system has ended both 1) dependency across generations by relying on workers’ own savings to fund their pensions instead of taxing younger workers, and 2) the rent-seeking and special interest cronyism that plagued the old system. Photo: This AFP (Private Pension System) office was looted during the protests of the "Evade" movement against the government of Sebastian Piñera.

Coinciding with the launch of the fourth annual edition of its Index of Economic Freedom for Spain’s Cities—which won Atlas Network’s 2020 Europe Liberty Award—Fundación para el Avance de la Libertad released its first assessment of municipal economic freedom for thirty large cities in the EU, European Free Trade Association, and UK region. Stockholm, Manchester, Munich, Copenhagen, Paris, London, Cologne, and Budapest all received “Moderately High Local Economic Freedom” classifications.

Unleashing the private sector in Indonesia’s vaccine rollout; holding state-owned enterprises accountable in Malaysia; and securing economic freedom for women in Sri Lanka—which will the panel of judges find most compelling in this year’s Asia Think Tank Shark Tank competition? Be sure to tune in on day 2 of #AsiaLF21 on June 25 to watch the pitches!

Late on May 17th, the government announced a request for proposals from companies to “provide airborne Intelligence Reconnaissance Services primarily on holiday weekends through Thanksgiving...aimed at the detection of campfires, off-highway vehicles operating in restricted areas, and…get this…gatherings of 10 or more individuals,” according to a commentary in the Calgary Sun. By 8 a.m. the following morning, Alberta Institute had launched a petition against using drones to spy on Albertans. By 11 a.m., it had 4,000 signatures, and Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon announced the plan had been canceled. Read more about the Alberta Institute’s early successes.

A panel of expert judges will consider a project to issue title to a million longstanding “rental” citizens living in Zimbabwe’s inner cities and rival projects to promote open trade in Burundi and Cameroon in this year’s Africa Think Tank Shark Tank competition, which will occur on day 2 of #AfricaLF21 on June 22. Register to attend to see who wins!

A project to improve the quality of laws passed in Lithuania will compete against a project to translate index metrics to policy changes in the United Kingdom in this year’s Europe Think Tank Shark Tank competition, which you can catch on day 2 of #EuropeLF21 on June 23. Register for the online forum here.

The founder and director of the Adam Smith Center in Singapore, Bryan Cheang, joined the AtlasNexus podcast to discuss the challenges of fundraising for a think tank in Singapore and East Asia, the joy of advancing freedom, and how his team has successfully launched profit-generating activities. There is a strong demand for educational materials and learning experiences in Singapore, so Adam Smith Center has partnered with schools and educational organizations to provide programming, a series of economic textbooks for pre-university students, and more. Listen to learn how your organization should focus on your unique value proposition based on your strengths, personnel, resources, and relationships.

Property rights in favelas vs. energy reform in Mexico vs. formal entrepreneurship for women will square off in a three-way bout among representatives of Students For Liberty, México Evalúa, and Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad. You’ll want to hear about each of these projects on the second day of #ForoLibertad21 on June 24, which you can register to attend here.

As the director of research at Australia's Institute of Public Affairs, Daniel Wild frequently appears in the Australian media, and he specializes in red tape, regulation, economic policy, the philosophy of free enterprise, and criminal justice. In this episode of the AtlasNexus podcast, he and fellow Aussie Vale Sloane discuss Australia's heavy-handed lockdowns and travel bans, the condition of free speech in the country, and much more.

En la última edición de Mirada Sur, discutimos el voto en dos países clave de la región: México y Perú. Dos países que se juegaron mucho en las elecciones del último fin de semana y acapararon las miradas de toda la región. Pero además, cumple dos años de gestión uno de los presidentes más polémicos del continente, el salvadoreño Nayib Bukele, y ponemos la lupa sobre su gestión. También analizamos el momento social y político en Cuba, donde crece un movimiento de resistencia interno. Regístrese aquí para recibir el boletín en español. (Register to receive the Center for Latin America’s Spanish-language briefing of the region here).