Chile, which suffering from many of the same social and economic problems that afflict other Latin American countries, has enjoyed remarkable political stability. With the exception of one brief interlude, Chile has been governed by elected rules for half a century. The feature of Chilean development that explains its exceptional nature in contrast to the rest of Latin America is the special role of the bureaucracy, which functions as a broker for the conflicting demands of both the new and the traditional groups. Yet a strong dichotomy is evident between the entrepreneurial and bureaucratic elites, which have benefited and participated in the dominant society, and the peasantry, which has been largely exploited and excluded from the polity. Petras finds that the attempts to develop a dynamic industrial society in Chile have so far ailed. Chronic problems of slow economic growth and a rigid social system have been managed through a delicate system of political balances involving established parties and interest groups. While this arrangement has contributed to Chile's stability, it has also served to delay the entry of the peasantry and urban lower class into the polity, and as these groups do enter the political arena, they do so as radicals, increasingly hostile to established leaders and institutions. Working with fresh data, Petras considers virtually every aspect of Chile's social, political, and economic development, including industrialization and the roles of the right wing, the middle class, the peasantry, and the bureaucracy; and he gives detailed consideration to the programs and behavior of the Popular Action Front (FRAP) and the Christian Democratic party. In his final chapter,the author hazards a number of predictions concerning the future course of Chilean politics. He anticipates that the present trend toward basic social change will continue and that this will include limitation of the powers and prerogatives of the rich, a greater role for the government in planning and directing the economy, and some outright expropriation. In the long run, a realignment of major politcal forces is probably, with the likely result that opposition to reform will increase. The heavy involvement of North American firms in the Chilean copper-mining industry could lead to a conflict between a national-popular government in the United States. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1969.

Chile, which suffering from many of the same social and economic problems that afflict other Latin American countries, has enjoyed remarkable political stability. With the exception of one brief interlude, Chile has been governed by elected rules for half a century. The feature of Chilean development that explains its exceptional nature in contrast to the rest of Latin America is the special role of the bureaucracy, which functions as a broker for the conflicting demands of both the new and the traditional groups. Yet a strong dichotomy is evident between the entrepreneurial and bureaucratic elites, which have benefited and participated in the dominant society, and the peasantry, which has been largely exploited and excluded from the polity. Petras finds that the attempts to develop a dynamic industrial society in Chile have so far ailed. Chronic problems of slow economic growth and a rigid social system have been managed through a delicate system of political balances involving established parties and interest groups. While this arrangement has contributed to Chile's stability, it has also served to delay the entry of the peasantry and urban lower class into the polity, and as these groups do enter the political arena, they do so as radicals, increasingly hostile to established leaders and institutions. Working with fresh data, Petras considers virtually every aspect of Chile's social, political, and economic development, including industrialization and the roles of the right wing, the middle class, the peasantry, and the bureaucracy; and he gives detailed consideration to the programs and behavior of the Popular Action Front (FRAP) and the Christian Democratic party. In his final chapter,the author hazards a number of predictions concerning the future course of Chilean politics. He anticipates that the present trend toward basic social change will continue and that this will include limitation of the powers and prerogatives of the rich, a greater role for the government in planning and directing the economy, and some outright expropriation. In the long run, a realignment of major politcal forces is probably, with the likely result that opposition to reform will increase. The heavy involvement of North American firms in the Chilean copper-mining industry could lead to a conflict between a national-popular government in the United States. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1969.

This book investigates why Chile suddenly confronted a violent social revolt in October 2019, after almost thirty years of political stability, during which time the country was broadly regarded as Latin America’s most successful nation. Since democratic restoration in 1990, Chile’s relatively high levels of political stability, increasing prosperity and social modernisation have stood out in a region shaken by political convulsion and economic malaise. In early October 2019, President Sebastián Piñera confidently claimed that Chile represented a true ‘oasis’ of political stability and economic vitality in Latin America. However, just weeks later, the announcement of a small increase in the price of Santiago’s underground transport system unleashed an unprecedented wave of violent anti-government protests in the country, with protestors ultimately demanding Piñera’s resignation and the end of neoliberalism and the 1980 Constitution, among many other demands. This book analyses the causes of Chile’s socio-political upheaval, arguing that the fast social and economic modernisation produced by the neoliberal system led to a series of destabilising socio-political processes in the country. At a time when much analysis of the October uprising tends to be superficial or polarised on ideological grounds, this book provides a much-needed sociological and institutional analysis of the crisis. It will be an important read for scholars of Latin American politics and development, as well as those with a broader interest in state legitimacy, social movements and political contestation against neoliberalism.

Monograph on rural area politics, social conflict and land reform in Chile from 1919 to 1973 - comments on land tenure, labour legislation, rural area trade unions and political aspects from 1931 to 1964, social change, agrarian reform, etc. Maps, bibliography pp. 393 to 423, maps, references and statistical tables.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book brings together a range of ideas and theories to arrive at a deeper understanding of inequality in Latin America and its complex realities. To so, it addresses questions such as: What are the origins of inequality in Latin America? How can we create societies that are more equal in terms of income distribution, gender equality and opportunities? How can we remedy the social divide that is making Latin America one of the most unequal regions on earth? What are the roles played by market forces, institutions and ideology in terms of inequality? In this book, a group of global experts gathered by the Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (INTAL), part of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), show readers how various types of inequality, such as economical, educational, racial and gender inequality have been practiced in countries like Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and many others through the centuries. Presenting new ideas, new evidence, and new methods, the book subsequently analyzes how to move forward with second-generation reforms that lay the foundations for more egalitarian societies. As such, it offers a valuable and insightful guide for development economists, historians and Latin American specialists alike, as well as students, educators, policymakers and all citizens with an interest in development, inequality and the Latin American region.

This book argues that - in terms of institutional design, the allocation of power and privilege, and the lived experiences of citizens - democracy often does not restart the political game after displacing authoritarianism. Democratic institutions are frequently designed by the outgoing authoritarian regime to shield incumbent elites from the rule of law and give them an unfair advantage over politics and the economy after democratization. Authoritarianism and the Elite Origins of Democracy systematically documents and analyzes the constitutional tools that outgoing authoritarian elites use to accomplish these ends, such as electoral system design, legislative appointments, federalism, legal immunities, constitutional tribunal design, and supermajority thresholds for change. The study provides wide-ranging evidence for these claims using data that spans the globe and dates from 1800 to the present. Albertus and Menaldo also conduct detailed case studies of Chile and Sweden. In doing so, they explain why some democracies successfully overhaul their elite-biased constitutions for more egalitarian social contracts.

This book provides a political economy perspective on Chile’s contemporary economic development, explaining the different stages of Chile’s neoliberal pattern of economic integration into the global economy from 1973 to 2015. Three key explanatory variables are considered: the evolution of business-state relations, US geopolitical interest in the region through the waves of trade agreements, and the political impact of the dynamics of inflows and outflows of financial capital. Although Chile is typically considered to be a successful case of a free market economy, this book presents an alternative narrative of Chile’s growth through using a Latin American Structuralist political economy perspective. While it recognises the positive results in terms of growth, it also emphasises the lack of dynamic sources for long-term development, which embeds the economy into short-term booms followed by periods of stagnation.