I have always been a fan of the Olympic Games. It is my favorite sporting event, even more than the World Cup or any "global" final in a North American sport. My unfulfilled dream is to participate in one, but at this age, I would be lucky to compete in skeet shooting, and believe me, I don't lose sleep over practicing it (nothing personal).

Given that, I remember the opening ceremonies with particular joy, because of the enormous effort made by the volunteers and the organizers, and because they always highlight local cultural aspects of the place where they are held. For example, in London 2012, both the opening and closing ceremonies focused on things that make the United Kingdom proud: the Industrial Revolution, rugby and soccer, the health system (NHS), music, James Bond, and, of course, Mr. Bean.

That national pride led me to wonder what things Chileans should be proud of. In a non-statistically representative survey, people mentioned La Teletón, our resilience in the face of disasters, our wine and pisco, marraqueta bread, national holidays, Neruda, Mistral and Huidobro, Chino Ríos, the glorious University of Chile, Torres del Paine, etc. It is true that, in one way or another, all these things represent us and are part of "our DNA," but I believe that they unfairly leave out perhaps the institution that has done the most for our well-being and is constantly highlighted internationally: the Central Bank.

It is true that the Central Bank of Chile does not have the fame of Alexis Sánchez, Marcelo Salas, or Bárbara Riveros, but without underestimating the efforts of our outstanding athletes, in the league of central banks, those who have managed to reduce inflation and its volatility in such a short time can be counted on the fingers of one hand.This has led to a significant improvement in well-being, especially for the poorest. This was not easy and, as I wrote on one occasion, it required both economic and political efforts in a fractured society emerging from a dictatorship, but which needed understanding, agreements, and clear objectives. Thus, since the Central Bank achieved its autonomy, inflation fell from almost 25% per year at the beginning of 1990 to just under 3% at the beginning of 2000. Since then, price variation has averaged what was previously the center of the band and is now the specific target of our inflation targeting scheme: 3%.

So much so that, at a recent seminar on monetary policy and inflation, which I was fortunate enough to attend (well, via Zoom), several speakers praised the conduct of monetary policy in our country. One of them, a leading economist from the Federal Reserve, even mentioned that the best manual on monetary policy in the world was that of our Central Bank. There are few things for which we are recognized as number one, and although it may seem like an institution far removed from our daily lives, this is probably the best proof that the Central Bank is doing its job, as inflation is not as relevant an issue here as it is in other parts of the world. Therefore, when some voices in the constitutional debate mention that the autonomy of the issuing entity should be reviewed and that objectives should be added, we must be careful. Let's continue to improve what has been done so successfully so far, but let's not break one of the few things that we can all feel tremendously proud of.

Nathan Pincheira

Chief Economist at Fynsa