The most welfare-minded economy in Latin America has fallen on sickly days. The cause: too much government interference. The effect: a general disillusionment expressed in endless strikes.
Last week a rubber-products company, a soft-drink bottling works and the national airline were shut down, bringing the strike total since last January to more than 175. Close to 5,000 employees of the government-owned telephone company voted to strike this week unless wages are boosted. Ranging from five minutes to five months, the strikes cost the country an estimated 6,200,000 man-hours and uncounted millions of dollars in productivity.
The strikes reflect the tensions and...
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