Chile has become the first South American country to be admitted into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).<br /><br />Michelle Bachelet, Chile's president, says entry into the group is a major stride towards joining the ranks of developed nations.<br /><br />Chile has, in the last two decades, gone from being one of the poorest countries in Latin America to one of the richest. <br /><br />Based in France, the OECD comprises 30 countries that promote principles of representative democracy and free-market economy.<br /><br />It traditionally includes rich and industrialised nations such as the US, Japan and South Korea.<br /><br />In recent years, it has also made efforts to give entry to developing economies such as Mexico and Poland.<br /><br />Membership - given to countries that meet certain political and economic requirements - allows member states to discuss and co-ordinate global social, environmental, and economic policies.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman, reporting from Santiago, explains that Chile's free market economy was one factor that helped it gain entry into the OECD.<br /><br />"An economic powerhouse like Brazil, for example, doesn't have such an open economy and has many protectionist measures," she said.
