Local here.
This is what happens when a country is run by accountants and lawyers who are under the thumb of Big Business, especially mining companies—they even get to set their own taxation rates (if they're impeded in any way they'll change the government).
The other factor is an ultra conservative and timid population obsessed with sport, entertainment, celebrity and trivia and where the word "mañana" is embedded in its psyche.
Lack of refineries is just one instance, we can't even get our huge gas reserves to the eastern states leading to shortages and energy price hikes (no trouble exporting gas to the rest of the world mind you).
We've killed off self sufficiency—no strategic manufacturing left, we export ores without first refining them (iron ore for example). Anything we invent is developed by other countries, and so on, and so on. One could write a book!
There's a saying one's beginning to here amongst some locals these days "things won't change for the better until the Chinese take over". When you start hearing stuff like that you know things are bad.
It's very depressing living here, I just wish I had an easy means of escape.
