Michelle Bachelet wants to amend the constitution and expand the welfare state.
New
York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera are billionaires. Both ran for office as
center-right candidates. Both have a reputation for an arbitrary and capricious
style of governance.
It
now looks like they will have one more thing in common: hard-left successors.
On Tuesday, Sandinista-supporter Bill de Blasio won
the New York City mayoral contest. Polls suggest that this Sunday former
Chilean president Michelle Bachelet —running for president again—could win in
the first-round election. She is a Socialist but is the candidate for the New
Majority coalition, which includes the Communist Party and weakened Christian
Democrats.
The
rise in populism on the heels of the Bloomberg and Piñera administrations is no
surprise. Both the New York mayor and the Chilean president have been loath to
defend individual rights when they think they know better. Is it any wonder
that the electorate in both jurisdictions increasingly believes that elections
give chief executives carte blanche?
Mr.
Bloomberg carried his eccentricities to extremes, for instance in his campaign
against soft drinks. He also was excessively tolerant of Occupy Wall Street's
infringement on the civil liberties of law-abiding New Yorkers, though he
restored order when things got out of hand.
Chilean
former President and presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet casts her vote
during the primary elections in Santiago, Chile, 30 June 2013. European
Pressphoto Agency
Mr.
Piñera's whims have been more dangerous. Early in his administration he
terminated the construction of a coal-fired electricity plant as
environmentalists in the streets were demanding. GDF SuezGSZ.FR +0.05% had spent some
$15 million on assessments and clearing regulatory hurdles. But Mr. Piñera
agreed with the protesters. So he made a "suggestion"—as he explained
during a visit to the Journal's office in September—to the head of the company
that the plant be moved. The project was canceled, and the investors went away.
The
president doubtless believed he'd maneuvered brilliantly out of a tight
political spot. But blowing off an institutional ruling in favor of the mob was
like putting blood in the water. His opponents realized that they could devour
him by taking to the streets.
Going
forward, the collateral damage could be worse. A President Bachelet is likely
to find Chileans in the streets useful if she doesn't have the majorities in
Congress to fulfill her agenda.
Ms.
Bachelet wants to expand the welfare state. To pay for it she wants to raise
corporate tax rates and to tax shareholders on retained earnings along with the
dividend taxes they already pay. She would restore a role for the state in the
now privatized pension system and has called for an "exhaustive
review" of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that would deepen Chile's
commitment to free trade. Labor unions would get more power, and education
spending would be sharply higher. Most troubling, the self-described admirer of
Fidel Castro proposes changes to the constitution that would extend the reach
of government and has not ruled out calling a constitutional assembly.
Ms.
Bachelet's main opponent is center-right Independent Democratic Union (UDI)
candidate Evelyn Matthei. UDI is a coalition partner with Mr. Piñera's National
Renovation Party and from 2011 through July 2013 Ms. Matthei was labor
minister.
She
ought to be having an easy time of it. During Mr. Piñera's tenure, Chile has
grown 5.8% per year on average. When he took office, annual per capita income
was $15,000. Today it is $20,000. That's not far from the $23,800 annual per
capita income needed to qualify as a developed country.
But
Mr. Piñera has been no champion of economic freedom. His government introduced
a six-month maternity-leave mandate, which he claims "doesn't affect job
creation because it is funded by the government. It is not a cost to the
companies." That's silly. Someone is paying for it and firms are harmed
when a job has to remain unfilled for a half year or filled by a temporary
worker.
The
Piñera government raised corporate taxes after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake
struck the country in 2010. The increase was supposed to be temporary. But when
students, led by communist activists, took to the streets to demand state-paid
university education in 2011, Mr. Piñera devised a generous package of freebies
and subsidies for them—and the tax hike became permanent. His government also
added a new preschool entitlement for all. A hydroelectric project in the south
of the country, which environmentalists bitterly oppose, has been waiting for
approval from his government for two and a half years.
Mr.
Piñera seems to have viewed himself in the presidency as a genie who grants
wishes when the spirit moves him. But Piñera populism has whetted the public's
appetite for more—and the national debate about the role of the state has
shifted hard to the left, leaving Ms. Matthei behind.
Now
the Communist Party is flexing its muscles and Ms. Bachelet is a fellow
traveler. Chile has strong institutions and its open markets will react quickly
to a pernicious policy mix. But that won't make the country's political
polarization any less intense.
fecha |
Título |
05/07/2023| |
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05/10/2016| |
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15/07/2016| |
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26/05/2016| |
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14/04/2016| |
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11/02/2016| |
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11/11/2015| |
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03/06/2015| |
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15/04/2015| |
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15/04/2015| |
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23/03/2015| |
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16/03/2015| |
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09/03/2015| |
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23/02/2015| |
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27/01/2015| |
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13/01/2015| |
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22/12/2014| |
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09/12/2014| |
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02/12/2014| |
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15/11/2014| |
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14/10/2014| |
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07/10/2014| |
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24/09/2014| |
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15/09/2014| |
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09/09/2014| |
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09/09/2014| |
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26/08/2014| |
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11/08/2014| |
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21/07/2014| |
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18/07/2014| |
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10/07/2014| |
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17/06/2014| |
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16/05/2014| |
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07/05/2014| |
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22/04/2014| |
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09/04/2014| |
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25/03/2014| |
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23/03/2014| |
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26/02/2014| |
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19/02/2014| |
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18/02/2014| |
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03/02/2014| |
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03/02/2014| |
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07/01/2014| |
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03/12/2013| |
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26/11/2013| |
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23/10/2013| |
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17/10/2013| |
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15/10/2013| |
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06/10/2013| |
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17/09/2013| |
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12/09/2013| |
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27/08/2013| |
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23/08/2013| |
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06/08/2013| |
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13/05/2013| |
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17/04/2013| |
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18/03/2013| |
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10/03/2013| |
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27/02/2013| |
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07/01/2013| |
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26/12/2012| |
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26/12/2012| |
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11/12/2012| |
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04/12/2012| |
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28/11/2012| |
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22/11/2012| |
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20/11/2012| |
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14/11/2012| |
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05/11/2012| |
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29/10/2012| |
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22/10/2012| |
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07/09/2012| |
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30/08/2012| |
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21/08/2012| |
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15/08/2012| |
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31/07/2012| |
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31/07/2012| |
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23/07/2012| |
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18/07/2012| |
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10/07/2012| |
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19/06/2012| |
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11/06/2012| |
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06/06/2012| |
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09/05/2012| |
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07/05/2012| |
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30/04/2012| |
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19/03/2012| |
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06/03/2012| |
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06/03/2012| |
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19/10/2011| |
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12/10/2011| |
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03/10/2011| |
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03/10/2011| |
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03/10/2011| |
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27/09/2011| |
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27/09/2011| |
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23/09/2011| |
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21/09/2011| |
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04/09/2011| |
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04/09/2011| |
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02/09/2011| |
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02/09/2011| |
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24/08/2011| |
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24/08/2011| |
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10/08/2011| |
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02/08/2011| |
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26/07/2011| |
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26/07/2011| |
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19/07/2011| |
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19/07/2011| |
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12/07/2011| |
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12/07/2011| |
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21/06/2011| |
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21/06/2011| |
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15/06/2011| |
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15/06/2011| |
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13/06/2011| |
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13/06/2011| |
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25/05/2011| |
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24/05/2011| |
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24/05/2011| |
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17/05/2011| |
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17/05/2011| |
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17/05/2011| |
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17/05/2011| |
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15/05/2011| |
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15/05/2011| |
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10/05/2011| |
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10/05/2011| |
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26/04/2011| |
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26/04/2011| |
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20/04/2011| |
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20/04/2011| |
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19/04/2011| |
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19/04/2011| |
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13/04/2011| |
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12/04/2011| |
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08/04/2011| |
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23/03/2011| |
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22/03/2011| |
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17/03/2011| |
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01/03/2011| |
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28/02/2011| |
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13/02/2011| |
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08/02/2011| |
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01/02/2011| |
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01/02/2011| |
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04/01/2011| |
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04/01/2011| |
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29/12/2010| |
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21/12/2010| |
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20/12/2010| |
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15/12/2010| |
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07/12/2010| |
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30/11/2010| |
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23/11/2010| |
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16/11/2010| |
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10/11/2010| |
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08/11/2010| |
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22/10/2010| |
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17/10/2010| |
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11/10/2010| |
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05/10/2010| |
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22/09/2010| |
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31/08/2010| |
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31/08/2010| |
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23/08/2010| |
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23/08/2010| |
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04/08/2010| |
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26/07/2010| |
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20/07/2010| |
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20/07/2010| |
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29/06/2010| |
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22/06/2010| |
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22/06/2010| |
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12/06/2010| |
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24/05/2010| |
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18/05/2010| |
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17/05/2010| |
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11/05/2010| |
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27/04/2010| |
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26/04/2010| |
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13/04/2010| |
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12/04/2010| |
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07/04/2010| |
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31/03/2010| |
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29/03/2010| |
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24/03/2010| |
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23/03/2010| |
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03/03/2010| |
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03/03/2010| |
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22/02/2010| |
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22/02/2010| |
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09/02/2010| |
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08/02/2010| |
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01/02/2010| |
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27/01/2010| |
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12/01/2010| |
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16/12/2009| |
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16/12/2009| |
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14/12/2009| |
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14/12/2009| |
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24/11/2009| |
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24/11/2009| |
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23/11/2009| |
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23/11/2009| |
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16/11/2009| |
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16/11/2009| |
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15/11/2009| |
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15/11/2009| |
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10/11/2009| |
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10/11/2009| |
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05/11/2009| |
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29/10/2009| |
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20/10/2009| |
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13/10/2009| |
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08/10/2009| |
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30/09/2009| |
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22/09/2009| |
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16/09/2009| |
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01/09/2009| |
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21/08/2009| |
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18/08/2009| |
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10/08/2009| |
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10/08/2009| |
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29/07/2009| |
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29/07/2009| |
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28/07/2009| |
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28/07/2009| |
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23/07/2009| |
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23/07/2009| |
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16/07/2009| |
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16/07/2009| |
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16/07/2009| |
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24/03/2009| |
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05/03/2009| |
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05/03/2009| |
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05/02/2009| |
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15/01/2009| |
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03/12/2008| |
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03/12/2008| |
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25/11/2008| |
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25/11/2008| |
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12/11/2008| |
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12/11/2008| |
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18/09/2008| |
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18/09/2008| |
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06/09/2008| |
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06/09/2008| |
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27/08/2008| |
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27/08/2008| |
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28/07/2008| |
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28/07/2008| |
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08/07/2008| |
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08/07/2008| |
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23/06/2008| |
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23/06/2008| |
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12/06/2008| |
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12/06/2008| |
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15/04/2008| |
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09/04/2008| |
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03/04/2008| |
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11/03/2008| |
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25/02/2008| |
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07/02/2008| |
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29/12/2007| |
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18/11/2007| |
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29/10/2007| |
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26/09/2007| |
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20/09/2007| |
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05/08/2007| |
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14/07/2007| |
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30/05/2007| |
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30/05/2007| |
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17/01/2007| |
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17/01/2007| |
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10/10/2006| |
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28/07/2006| |
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06/03/2006| |
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21/02/2006| |
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09/07/2005| |
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24/08/2003| |
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24/08/2003| |
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