Introducción.
El día 13 de diciembre de 2009 se van a producir las elecciones a la presidencia de la Republica de Chile. Y lo cierto es que el país del fin del mundo anda revuelto en la escena política mientras su economía sigue caminando en la senda del milagro económico chileno. Si bien, es cierto que ha sufrido un leve retroceso debido a la crisis financiera que ha asolado al planeta en los últimos trimestres.
Durante los 20 años de democracia, Chile ha sido capaz de combinar de manera satisfactoria la consolidación de instituciones democráticas y reformas estructurales que han conducido a una buena dinámica económica. Así, es uno de los países de la región donde más se ha reducido la tasa de pobreza así como la tasa de analfabetismo, la cual es menos del 2,5%. Como sombra en esta luz encontramos que la diferencia entre los que ingresan más y los que menos se ha incrementado, siendo una de las mayor del continente.
Políticamente, el estado chileno esta considerado según el índice de desarrollo democrático elaborado por la fundación alemana Konrad Adenauer y el portal de Internet de política latinoamericana Polilat.com, como el líder de América Latina.
En este sentido, El presidente del Gobierno español, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, dijo hace un par de años que las empresas españolas estaban "a gusto" en Chile porque trabajan en un país "serio y moderno", "un ejemplo para Latinoamérica y para el mundo” (1)
El sistema presidencialista de coaliciones y balotage ha podido generar una mayor estabilidad debido a la reducción del espectro político que se produjo durante la transición. Este factor durante la época de la mencionada pudo resultar vital, pero a día de hoy se ha producido un delink entre la sociedad civil y los partidos quedando patente que el sistema liberal y presidencialista esta en crisis. Los grupos desconectados están buscando nuevas vías de participación y como tal un nuevo proceso democrático esta siendo demandado. En este sentido, el estado debe volver a ser centro de las negociaciones entre grupos, como lo fue durante la época del ISI y como esta empezando a ser en el gobierno de Bachelet. El semipresidencialismo con reelección y más poderes para el parlamento, la profundización de la descentralización y la democracia participativa pueden ser algunas de las soluciones viables para solventar este déficit democrático. Pero lo cierto es que con la rigidez de la constitución de 1980 y el anquilosamiento de las elites políticas, este cambio se vislumbra realmente trabado. El delink de estos grupos acontece durante la transición, produciéndose una readaptación de las elites y dejando al Partido Comunista fuera del juego político y más concretamente arrinconándole al margen de las alianzas capaces de gobernar.
Así, desde mi punto de vista el sistema presidencialista chileno ha sido ineficiente desde el punto de vista de legitimación en la toma de decisiones de los mandatarios hacia los ciudadanos debido a diferentes factores. En primer lugar a el incremento de los poderes presidenciales y por la consecuente la reducción del parlamentario. Otros factores importantes son el delink previamente mencionado y la creación de una elite institucional y la centralización del poder.
La concertación como coalición hegemónica.
La concertación surge cuando la oposición contra la Junta militar se fortalece en la década de los 80. En ese momento, los demócrata cristianos viraron su posición con el objetivo de la defensa de los derechos humanos y por lo tanto. Empezaron a colaborar con algunos partidos y organización del espectro político de la izquierda.
Al mismo tiempo de la crisis económica de los años 80, emergía una crisis estatal. Reivindicaciones sociales se cristalizaron y las elites vieron la necesidad de adaptarse al nuevo contexto sociopolítico. Las elites políticas, junto a los partidos políticos tradicionales movilizaron la protesta contra la continuación de las normas y el stablishment autoritario y comenzaron a negociar la vuelta de los militares a los barracones. Así, las elites civiles se encontraron negociando pactos que pudiesen facilitar la transición al régimen civil y democrático. (2)
Otra de las causas de la conformación de la concertación es la ayuda exterior que recibió la oposición de las estructuras internacionales de los partidos nacionales como la internacional socialista (3) y de los programas de Derechos Humanos de Estados Unidos (4)
Los partidos políticos vieron en el plebiscito de 1988 la oportunidad política necesaria para formalizar un cambio a través de una vía pacifica y con el apoyo de los actores exteriores. Decidieron tomar la forma de concertación multipartidista de acuerdo con la constitución de 1980. De hecho, fue la única forma posible de candidatura establecida. Así, Demócrata Cristianos, PPD, PS y el Partido Radical formaron una coalición de partidos con el objetivo de ganar el plebiscito de 1988. Los comunistas quedaron excluidos del juego político desde ese mismo momento. Tras ganar el plebiscito se convocaron elecciones presidenciales donde concurrieron como formación política.
Pero no fue un proceso sencillo, ya que en palabras de Linz y Caverrozi los Militares Chilenos tenían una posición más fuerte en el proceso de transición que otras dictaduras de la misma índole en el cono Sur. Esto fue posible debido a que ellos mismos crearon la constitución y por lo tanto establecieron las normas de juego.
Michelle, My girl.
Cuando Bachelet accede al gobierno, prometió ser una política diferente. Esta declaración de intenciones no resultaba novedoso en la historia de la democracia chilena, ya que la promesa de mayor cercanía con la ciudadanía ha sido una constante eterna en el ámbito político del país. Pero a la vista de la aceptación popular del 76%, una de las mayores del continente americano, parece que ha logrado el objetivo prometido gracias a su innovadora labor de campo, la cual ha hecho que muchos chilenos la observen como una figura protectora, es decir como Madre de la nación.
El caso es que Bachelet no lo tenía fácil. Ex ministra de defensa y madre divorciada, abrió de nuevo las grandes alamedas para ser elegida como la primera presidenta del cono Sur sin la condición de viudedad de un político de renombre. Pero fue su experiencia al frente de una institución castrense con marcado carácter conservador y de tradición machista, la que doto a la pediatra Bachelet del influjo necesario para afrontar las críticas de una sociedad que políticamente pensaba en masculino.
Victima del régimen de Pinochet, continúa persiguiendo los mismos objetivos que en su etapa de juventud pero de un modo más pragmático como refleja en estas declaraciones:
Me encanta lo que decían los griegos: "El pragmatismo es la capacidad de hacer realidad los sueños". ¡Es verdad! Al final, no es cuestión de ser pragmáticos por ser pragmáticos, sino que gracias a ello hemos logrado disminuir fundamentalmente la pobreza, hemos logrado hacer un país que se desarrolla. (5)
Según The Economist (Sept, 17th, 2009) su éxito se basa en que ha forzado algunos compromisos como trasladar pesos pesados en el gabinete y delegar más. La segunda razón es que, mientras llevaba a cabo un rigor fiscal (en algunos costes políticos) opto por desarrollar políticas de protección social y promoción de la igualdad de oportunidad, su principal prioridad. Su gobierno esta construyendo 3,500 guarderías para niños pobres. Ha introducido una pensión universal mínima y ha extendido la sanidad gratuita hasta cubrir muchos supuestos. Su política de vivienda ofrece casas de buena calidad en barrios modelos. (6)
Elecciones 2010 y nuevo escenario político.
A las elecciones presidenciales del 13 de diciembre de 2009 concurren cuatro candidatos: Marco Enríquez Ominami, Sebastián Piñera, Eduardo Frei y Jorge Arrate. En este análisis me centrare en los tres primeros debido a que, según los sondeos de opinión, son los tres candidatos que pugnan por acceder a la segunda vuelta.
La constitución que configura el sistema político chileno establece que los votantes que quieran concurrir a votar en las elecciones, a diferencia de Europa, deben estar inscritos en el censo electoral. Así el cupo de inscritos es menor que los ciudadanos capacitados para poder ejercer el voto. Este es uno factor tradicional en los presidencialismos latinoamericanos, el cual fomenta la apatía hacia la política y en especial en los jóvenes. En este sentido, podemos inscribir las campañas de sensibilización que han llevado a cabo tanto la concertación como el candidato independiente para lograr el mayor número de jóvenes inscritos en el censo electoral.
Otro de los issues tradicionales cuando se producen elecciones presidenciales es el eterno debate de la reelección. Las republicas liberales de América del Sur nacieron con el ejemplo del presidencialismo norteamericano donde existe una limitación en el mandato máximo de 2 periodos y con una fuerte división de poderes. Pero, la limitación del mandato a un único periodo presidencial en Chile viene marcada por la Constitución de 1980 y ante el miedo de los militares a un gobierno fuerte y continuado que pudiese iniciar reformas y juicios políticos del régimen anterior.
Además, el debate presidencialismo/parlamentarismo esta marcado por una profunda tradición del primero en todo el continente. Sin embargo desde mi punto de vista, el semipresidencialismo podría producir un acotamiento de los poderes presidenciales gracias a un mayor control de las cámaras y por lo tanto, se podría reactivar la capacidad de reelección evitando el interminable argumento del populismo y de la perpetuación de un líder en el poder. Así los líderes políticos no serian caducos una vez ganadas las elecciones y podrían llevar a cabo grandes proyectos a largo plazo sin pensar en el rédito de popularidad inmediata. En el contexto actual y ante unas hipotéticas elecciones con posibilidad de reelección, la Presidenta Bachelet continuaría otros cuatro años en La Moneda.
El hecho de que el candidato de la concertación no parta como favorito es otro de los factores que marcan las elecciones y la campaña electoral. Por primera vez desde las elecciones que se produjeron tras el plebiscito, la concertación disputa las elecciones a la contra. El hecho de que sean las primeras elecciones sin Pinochet es otro factor de menor relevancia.
Podemos considerar a Marco Enríquez Ominami como un outsider que aparece en la escena política chilena dentro de la competición coalicional. No cuenta con unas estructuras de partido estables ni con cuadros extremadamente expertos en el arte del gobierno. Esta apoyado por algunos antiguos miembros de la concertación que como el tomaron el camino díscolo y por la estructura del partido Humanista. Sin embargo, debido a sus orígenes y a su actividad política de los últimos años como el “diputado díscolo” podemos decir que si que forma parte de la elite del país. En este sentido, Marco Enríquez-Ominami es un productor televisivo y forma parte de la tradición de la izquierda chilena. De allí su documental los héroes fatigados donde analiza la transformación de las elites de la izquierda chilena durante la transición y su voluntad de pacto con el inmovilismo militar para lograr la democracia. Filosofo de carrera y cineasta de profesión, a los 36 años Marco Enríquez Ominami, hijo de Miguel Enríquez líder del MIR, es un serio candidato en la carrera presidencial.
ME-O surge como demanda de regeneración dentro del sistema político del país, así como esperanza de los votantes desencantados que quieren una ruptura con el establishment. En este sentido, recoge las demandas de los grupos que sufrieron el Delink anteriormente mencionados.
Debido a la falta de espacios para competir en unas supuestas primarias dentro de la concertación, el candidato decidió competir de modo independiente renunciando así a su afiliación al Partido Socialista.
El agotamiento de la concertación, tras sus casi 20 años de gobierno es consecuencia de la total ausencia de renovación de sus cúpulas dirigentes y de los actores principales de la coalición. Aquí podemos encontrar una de las causas por las que no se transmite la popularidad y la aprobación por parte de los chilenos a la presidenta Bachelet. Este modelo de concertación esta finiquitado.
El propio Ricardo Lagos reconoció que la irrupción del diputado "mandó a jubilar" a dirigentes de la primera división de la Concertación que ahora son "viejos cracks". Y el diagnóstico es común: la popularidad del abanderado presidencial es un llamado claro a la renovación de rostros en la dirigencia oficialista. El tema es objeto de debate especialmente en el PS y el PPD, donde comenzaron a articularse movimientos con miras a las elecciones internas, programadas para abril o mayo de 2010. Pero también ha tomado renovada fuerza en la DC.
Por ejemplo, el diputado Fulvio Rossi, del PS, sostiene que "La candidatura de Enríquez-Ominami ha hecho evidente algo que muchos desde hace tiempo han querido esconder y que es la necesidad de producir un recambio", (7)
La recandidatura presidencial de Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, hijo de Frei Montalva, tras 10 años de su paso por la Moneda es cuanto menos, ejemplarizante de la patente falta de regeneración de la que hemos hablado.
Esta candidatura es el mayor error estratégico que ha podido tomar la concertación debido a que representa todos aquellos valores negativos que la sociedad identifica con la pronta madurez de la democracia en el país. En primer lugar, el inmovilismo y caciquismo de las elites políticas que sobreviven a los años e incluso a el paso generacional.
En segundo lugar, porque él representa la adaptación de las elites y el pactismo que se desarrollo en Chile durante la transición chilena a la democracia. En este sentido, Eduardo Frei no avanzo en materia de recuperación de la memoria histórica, así como en reconocimiento de las victimas de la dictadura ni en la profundización del juicio por las responsabilidades de los crímenes contra la humanidad que acontecieron en ese periodo gris de la historia del estado chileno.
Bien es cierto que algunas mejoras constitucionales tuvieron lugar durante su gobierno, así como se dio un crecimiento económico, acompañado de una mejora en las relaciones internacionales del estado, que coloco a Chile en primera fila del escenario latinoamericano.
La estrategia actual de Eduardo Frei es la búsqueda del voto de la izquierda ante una posible segunda vuelta ante el candidato de la Alianza Sebastián Piñera. En este sentido, se ha autoproclamado heredero de Frei Montalva y de Salvador Allende, olvidando que el viraje de la DC durante el periodo de Allende facilito la inestabilidad de este gobierno. Esta declaración podemos enmarcarla dentro de un proceso de imitación del candidato Marco Enríquez, cuyo padre fue líder carismático del MIR durante el gobierno del doctor Allende. Así Frei Ruiz Tagle esta insistiendo en mostrar un perfil de izquierdas orientando de nuevo la concertación hacia su masa electoral más descontenta y por tanto más tendente a apoyar al candidato independiente.
Además su campaña esta orientada a un duelo con Marco Enríquez Ominami para conseguir pasar a la segunda vuelta y así poder conseguir la acumulación del voto de ambas candidaturas para enfrentarse con alguna posibilidad al candidato conservador de la alianza.
Sebastián Piñera es el líder de la Alianza y candidato de la Coalición por el Cambio. El empresario que representa a la derecha chilena esta ante su ultima oportunidad política de ser presidente de Chile, puesto que ya en el año 2005 perdió las elecciones ante la actual presidenta Michelle Bachelet. Sebastián Piñera es por primera vez tras la caída de Pinochet, el líder de la derecha capacitado según los sondeos para ser elegido Presidente. A pesar de Encabezar las encuestas de opinión, se le esta viendo nervioso durante estos días de precampaña electoral. Y esto es así ya que la suma de los otros dos candidatos puede desestabilizar el suelo sobre los que circulaba como un tren de alta velocidad la candidatura Conservadora. Hemos de recordar que Piñera ha sido el líder capaz de unir, por primera vez, a los diferentes sectores de la derecha conservadora: neoconservadores, neoliberales, liberales y pinochetistas.
Por otra parte, a Sebastián Piñera ya no se le puede acusar de falta de experiencia política ya que lleva una larga trayectoria política al frente de la alianza, de renovación nacional y en las distintas estructuras parlamentarias de la Republica.
Pero quizás, su talón de Aquiles se encuentra en su relación con los negocios. Eduardo Frei le recrimino en el último debate televisado la falta de separación entre “la política y los negocios, los negocios y la política”. En esta dirección Piñera tiene mucho que defender: Banco Talca, LAN, Farmacéuticas.
1. El país, 1 de Noviembre de 2009
2. Grindle, M: Crisis and the state: evidences from Latin America and Africa, in idem: Challenging the state, crisis and innovation in Latin America and Africa.
3. Touraine, A: Les Politiques nacional-populaires, in idem: Politique et Societe en Americ Latine.
4. Roett, R the foreign Policy of Latin America, in Foreign policy in world politics, R Marcridis, ed.
5. Entrevista con Michelle Bachelet, 1 de noviembre de 2009, El país.
6. The Economist(Sept, 17th, 2009)
7. El Mercurio, Santiago, 28 de octubre 2009
jueves 19 de noviembre de 2009
Elecciones presidenciales chilenas 2009/2010
martes 13 de octubre de 2009
Reflexiones sobre la declaración Schuman
A pesar de los numerosos intentos de organizar Europa bajo una única entidad, no fue hasta la declaración Schuman impulsada por Francia cuando se puso la primera piedra de esta entidad supranacional con competencias e instituciones soberanas que hoy conocemos como Unión Europea. Atrás quedaba la idea de cristiandad medieval organizada, la utopía de Saint-Simon, Comte y Víctor Hugo y proyectos militares con ambiciones geopolíticas y de dominación.
La integración europea surge de la necesidad de reconstrucción tras las devastadoras consecuencias en el plano social, económico y demográfico que ambas guerras mundiales conllevaron en el viejo continente. En este sentido y a consecuencia del plan Marshall se impulso una cooperación entre estados anteriormente rivales que acabo plasmándose con la creación de la CECA y con un rapprochement entre Francia y Alemania, expresado directamente en la declaración Schuman. Por este motivo, dicha declaración es uno de los pasos más ambiciosos de la historia de Europa, ya que no solo pacificaba y reducía la tensión geopolítica entre dos de los estados centrales de Europa sino que proponía la cooperación entre ambos y se pone fin al antagonismo histórico franco-alemán. Hemos de reconocer que la proposición surgida de la declaración se nutre de la experiencia adquirida del sistema de administración internacional de la cuenca del Rurh.
Con la declaración Schuman se pone fin a este sistema de internacionalización de la cuenca, accediendo Alemania a su explotación en condiciones de igualdad el marco de la Comunidad Europea del Carbón y del Acero (CECA). El tratado se firmo entre Alemania, Italia, Francia y los tres estados del BENELUX, entrando en vigor el 23 de julio de 1952 (Mangas,A y Liñan, D, 40:4,2006).
También hemos de destacar que entre los miembros del proceso, tomo forma un proyecto de seguridad comunitaria basado en el proyecto de integración. Este proyecto esta construido en una meta-securitización: el temor de que el futuro de Europa fuera como su pasado si se permitía que la fragmentación y el oscilamiento en el equilibrio de poder volvieran.(Buzan, B y Wæver, O, 353:1, 2005)
La declaración Schuman inaugura el regionalismo europeo desde una perspectiva de integración de los estados. En este sentido hemos de decir que este proceso es pionero en lo que se refiere a la cesión de soberanía por parte de los estados y a la consecuente creación de instituciones autónomas. Por tanto, con este documento se da el inicio de un proceso largo de construcción de las instituciones y de la identidad europea que llega hasta nuestros días y que ha echo posible que la UE tenga competencias propias en campos tan diversos como economía, agricultura, transportes o cooperación internacional. Este regionalismo surge durante el periodo de la guerra fría, el cual es otro factor que conforma el bloque europeo, y es por ello por lo que es relevante, ya que siguiendo las tesis de Fawcett y Hurrell el regionalismo es una característica del orden internacional de pos guerra fría (“regionalism in historical perspective”, 1995), donde las regiones se convierten en actores del nuevo sistema internacional, como podemos ejemplificar en el caso de otras entidades regionales como MERCOSUR.
Referencias:
Buzan,B y Wæver, O: “The Europes” en Idem: Regions and Powers, the structure of International Security(Cambridge University Press,2005).
Fawcett, L: “Regionalism in historical perspective” en Idem y Hurrell, A: Regionalism in world politics (Oxford University Press, 1995)
Mangas, A:”el proceso histórico de la integración europea” en Idem y Liñán, D: Instituciones y derecho de la Unión Europea(Tecnos, 2006)
lunes 29 de junio de 2009
Chile and development
1 Introduction
The Chilean state is structured on a representative and democratic system which has been created after Pinochet’s constitution in 1980. It has been reformed in 1989 in order to put the bases of the new Chilean state.Chile is a decentralised state that is formed for 12 regions and the metropolitan region of Santiago, that is its capital. However, the most important decentralised institutions are the communities because they are elected directly by the citizens.
Chilean main resource is cooper and nitre. They are one of the most important producers all around the world. Nowadays, Chilean economy is more diversified than some years ago.
The history of Chilean relations with their neighbour has been characterised by cycles. In summary, we could observe isolation and confrontation periods. On the other hand we could find integrational time with them.Latin America colonisation was legitimated by the Pope as a process of a new Christianised world. Spanish Empire received the papal bull to impose
its sovereignty in that territory. The treaty of Tordesillas (1494) divided the New World inequally between the two powers, Portugal and Spain, and gave to this one the major share of the Western Hemisphere [1].
As a mercantilism empire, Spain looked for extracting gold, silver and other natural resources. Mercantilism was the economic thinking since fiveteen century. Colonies were desired to get materials for businesses to the mother country [2].
However, Chilean territory didn’t have so much resource of gold and silver as their Peruan neighbour, therefore the Chilean conquest was slow and complete. The conquest of Chile covered since 1541 to 1598, period that involved different fights against Mapuches. But in general, Chile did not have an economy based on a large indigenous labour supply ([3], p. 3).
The independence movement was influenced by French and North American revolution.Also Napoleon invasion provided the opportunity to start their emancipation cycle to the new Creole society. Spains empire began a process of disintegration while France established their new monarchy with José I [1]. Chile institutions were forgotten by breaking to some considerable
degree with the colonial cultural and institutional legacy ([3], p.4).
As soon as the emancipation finished, Latin America became a geopolitical issue of dispute in order to get the influence in this South Hemisphere.
Chile has suffered these hegemonies due to the powers increased their strategical value because of the existence of Guano and Cooper. The different affairs of Chile have been interfered by US and Britain for the last two centuries.
In this paper we are going to analyse the different development models and policies that Chile has been taking. We could find some sociological model based on the exportation and dependency. On the other hand we might find some neoliberal thinking that has made to decrease the intervention of the state. We will also mix that policies with the hegemony that they have provided and we will answer what was their real influences in the Chilean affairs. The relations between Chile and their neighbours will be another important topic to understand how the Chilean development was. In this sense we will see how good relations might mean a step to development
2 From the creation of the state to Chilean socialism
2.1 Consolidation of Chilean state, democratic state and the basis of structural model
Chile was a strong state, built around democratic and republican values based on US revolution. It was Diego Portales who established a constitutional order that provided a stable dynamics and institutions. In this sense the system was characterised by a high level competition and open participation which emerged because of the unability of the aristocracy to maintain
the colonial status quo . There are many factors that influenced on creation of Chilean state.
First, the national identity avoided the transmission of foreign Latin American ideas and strengthened Chilean republican values. Diego Portales’s death during the war against Perú and Bolivia Confederation was understood as a national injury and an interference from this confederation leader, Santa Cruz. So the victory over them meant a union between the different important Chilean families who had been fighting to get the power since 1830 civil war.
Another important issue was state autonomy. Bulnes president inaugurated (1841-1851) a liberal period where we find tree variants. First, Bulnes permitted the growth of the Parliament which meant the beginning of power balance between institutions. Second, the state gained autonomy from the traditional land elite because of the increasing of exportation and mineral
searching. Balmaceda president(1886-1891) refused to give power to local governments so as not to transfer power to notables. Third, he firmly exchanged his role as commander-in chief of the armed forces for that of civilian president ([4], p. 72). That was a separation between military and civil atmosphere and it was a clear difference in comparison to other Latin American countries.
Plurality of parties was another mark of strength in this direction. In 1850s was the foundation of Conservative Party around lander elite against Montt Administration, and tried to press to accelerate secularisation and decentralisation in order to get local notables’ power. At the same time, the liberalism emerged under the influence of 1848 France revolution. Radical party was born in 1859 representing the anticlerical and mining interest. During Irrazaval Government, conservatives and the church accepted democracy and its legitimacy [4]. In summary, the conservatives helped the system by supporting democratic rules. This plurality entailed suffrage extension which made possible the workers movement to become legal. In 1921 Chilean Communist Party was officially founded. So extension of suffrage permitted to extend the party system. The only party emerging after 1930 was Christian Democratic party and then, as Linz said, Chile was configured as a complete system which was polarised and multidimensional.
In spite of Congress control, Leadership was another important issue.Balmaceda, Montt, Irrazazabal, etc., were elected as presidents since the Creation of the state. In this sense Chile elected all its presidents since 1830 to 1973. It had just been broken in 1891 because of a civil war and in the period between 1924-1932.
We also remark the Parliamentary control. We could see after the civil war when Balmaceda dead. For more than 3 month Senate and Congress were governing the republic and this inaugurated a parliamentary system (1891-1927).
Concrete political and social agreements also built on this strong foundation to consolidate the legitimacy of the state and in particular, contributed to the early acceptance of compromise state ([5], p. 300). It was an agreement between different class that lead the process towards and extension of social welfare.
In 1920’s decade, Chile had been suffering an instability age that started with a young military coup (1924) against landowner. After Figueroa, Ibañez was elected. He was a military who tried to provide a nonpolitical option. It was not a dictator but it was a repressive regimen. It became a democratic crisis which finished with a socialist republic for nineteen days. Alessandri came back and An effective democratic response to economic crisis was evidenced in Chile during the 1930’s when Alessandri brought the country out of the great depression with firm austerity measures and a strong commitment to democratic institutions, following a period of acute instability ([3],p. 17).
2.2 Pacific war
Substantial wealth were created from rich resource of Guano, silver and nitre which was extracted in deserted region of Atacama. On adjacent Tarapaca zone in Peru, the situation turned out to be equal; there were big deposits of natural resources to be exploited. However, the main difference was that enterprise got profits from there so as to give it to several interest.
So, only 20 % of this enterprise were Chilean, in contrast with the other side where a 50 % were peruan. In addition, the rest of the enterprise were divided between german and British.
In 1876 the President of Bolivia Tomás Frías was resigned by a military breakdown, which main role was Hilarión Daza. He stabilised a tax of 10% for exported quintal in nitre by Nitre and Railway of Antofagasta company that was Chilean and Britain capital. In this sense, this measure infringed 1874 treaty.
In Harold Blakemore words: “10 cents could have turned non economic the operation of the company against Tarapacá nitre competition. So one can imagine that the real intention of General Daza was longer than get a big collect”. Therefore it was a manoeuvre in order to destroy Chilean nitre competitors. However one can see a imperialist hand in this issue because the Britain economic interest was involved in that operation. So, the success that followed this process could be considered as a proof of the Britain empire in Chile.
Another factor that increased the tension was a secret pact between Perú and Bolivia which entailed a defencive alliance. In this sense, as Manuel Pardo told to his Brasilian equivalent, the ob jective of the pact was stop Chilean expanding. As we observe this is an important issue and reclaim against Chile from his neighbour. However, Argentina did not join it in spite of Peruan attempt.
Moreover, there were another economic factors in this secret alliance. Before war, Perú and Bolivia had together the global monopoly of Natural nitre and guano production but with forty one percent of the companies in Chilean, Britain or German hands. Then Bolivia and Perú did not accept an arbitrage in order to solve this issue as Chilean government claimed. So president Anibal Pinto, considering that Bolivia broke 1874 treaty, ordered Chilean army to occupy the territories where Chile was a state before the treaty. At the same time, General Daza decreed the expropriation and sold of Chilean company properties. But that decision could be completed because of Antofagasta occupation by Chilean forces. Immediately Perú declared war against Chile because of Secret Alliance with Bolivia. A maritime and overland campaign started which finished with Chilean conquest of Lima in 1883.
After the Battle of Arica, the victory completed Chile’s conquest of Nitrate Region and added another page of patriotism to Chilean school textbooks. IT also prompted the United States and England to offer mediation, but when Perú knew of Chile’s territorial demands, it rejects the gesture ([6],p. 101).
Chile got a big amount of natural resources that are situated in the new sovereignty zone due to getting territories in the North of Arica. Nowadays, Chile is the biggest cooper producer all around the world. For example El teniente mine is situated in the zone that Chile got because of the Pacific war.
There we also could find guano and nitre resource and a touristic important landscape as Atacama desert. On the other hand Chile was forced to ceded some places in Patagonia to Argentina in order to not to develop a four countries war. In that process we observed one of the first American intervention in their hemisphere when US tried to mediated between parts.
Pacific war is origin of limit conflicts between Chile and their neighbours Perú and Bolivia and it is cause of territorial sovereignty reclaim from both countries. In summary, we are able to say that this war has been influenced by the relations of that countries for more than one century. Still now, it represented an important issue in national policies.
In our opinion, as a consequence of this war, it was established a Chilean national dynamics toward region about international relations. So this is the real origin of Chilean way to understand and to apply diplomacy, foreign policy and other issues. In addition, Chile has had a strong position against land revindication for more than one century in order to external and internal consequences of this conflict. Moreover, it marked a Chilean way to solve conflicts between nations. This means that Chile has practised a diplomatic dynamics which understood only bilateral solutions and relations. This issue is one of the reason of some Chilean isolation during his history.
2.3 Panamericanism vs bolivarianism
There have been two different points of view in South America. Panamericanism which was impulsed by US, suggested governmental agreements between states in order to solve hypothetical problems.
US interest in the region emerged with Monroe Doctrine in 1823, which originated protoimperialism because it was the first American issue about foreign policy. Moreover, it meant the wish of US to turn into as a superpower. It impulsed the idea of two different hemispheres as hegemonic zones of US and Europe powers.
Monroe doctrine says that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as sub jects for future colonisation by any European powers...”. We owe it, therefore, to candour and to consider any attempt on their parts to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to out peace and safety[1]. In short, we could observe that it was the origin of US interventionism because of national security.
Contrarily to US wishes, it emerged bolivarianism in 1823 Panamá Conference as an integrational idea against North American expansionism. It expected to be the union between Latin America state, as well as it defended sovereignty with respect to uti possidetis iuri in 1810 and non intervention principle. Hence, we could say that it was a collective security system that
was based on sovereign equality. Panam´ a Congress in 1826 where Chile and US were absent, adopted four treaty inspired by principles as Latin American Union, Judgement as the way to keep peace, mutual defence and non interventionism. This movement failed due to the rising of the nationalism around Latin America. However, there were some subsequent attempts to
integration as Lima Congress (1848) or Chile Continent(1856). Integrational ideas did not rise again until 1960s. On the contrary, US foreign policy have had some continuity components
in their foreign policy towards Latin America:
doctrine.
avoid external interventions.
Pan-Americanism emerged in 1880. It proposed a hemispherical frame of free trade and pacific resolution of conflicts, as well as agreements leads by US. In order to get it, they impulsed the bureau of the American republics in 1989.
From this thinking emerged lately other organizations as OAS. US became a global power in this hemisphere after 1898 war against Spain which was justified by Platt amendment meaning a new imperialism in the region. Roosevelt Corollary (1902) continued in this sense. It said:
..chronic wrongdoing, or and impotent which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilised society, may in America, as elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by some civilised nation, and in the western hemisphere the adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may force the United States. However reluctantly...to the exercise of an international power [1].
Later F.D Roosevelt impulsed the good Neighbour policy focused on a non intervention as a pillar of USA foreign policy. From our analysis we observe that Chilean state has ever been near to
panamericanism point of view. In fact we look some factors that configurated it:
First, in spite of embrace in Maipú between Chilean liberators OHiggins and Argentinean Jos´e de San Mart´ın, Chilean society considered them-self as a nation before being a state. That was so because of their colonialism status was as of a secondary importance. Hence, this pertinence feeling as a nation came on top of hostility against old colonies considered as first level by Spanish Empire, impulsed a rejection towards integrational organisms.
Thus it was diffcult to Chilean state to transfer competencies and to start an integrational process when Chilean society only recently had acquired national sovereignt.
Second, another factor was a civil war that happened in Chile between different factions including loyal Spanish forces. It is also to be remarked the war between Chile and the Peruan-Bolivian confederation leaded by Santa Cruz during this decade.
Third, we should remember the North American influence in Chilean issue is an important cleavage about how Chilean decided their own foreign policy. Moreover, the traditional way of face up the international relations as a bilateral way might marke this instance.
2.4 The state as centre of development
State centric matrix had been established in Latin America since 1930s. Thus means that it has been put into practise in several regimes. This matrix was based on import substituting industrialisation, closed or semiclosed economy, state regulation and a reasonable standard of inflation. It had two different edges:
First, the relation between state and market where there was a balance between dynamics and regulation. So, state was able to take part on labour and goods markets as well as he might be able to produce goods for the internal market.
Second, another fact was the relation between state and social society either by direct or by indirect control. In direct ways we find it in institutions and in culture when we speak about indirect [7].
Chile successfully pursed a model of state-led development mediated by strong democratic political institutions, a powerful congress and an institutionalised party system. The state was also effectively engaged in redistributive policies to create an early social welfare system ([5], p. 299).
In 1938, Frente Popular, a coalition between Centre and Marxist, won the elections. Radical Pedro Cerda was elected and a young Salvador Allende was elected as minister in his cabinet. They inaugurated state centric matrix by social welfare policies. They created CORFO that was a fundamental institution to understand this model of development. It was an important role of ISI as a state agent in industrialisation process. It was a semi-autonomy institution because of its compromise social composition. It was a new mechanism around Latin America.
In opposition to traditional economy model, Chicago school emerged as another offer to getting development in 1950’s. The Chicago School of Economics tried to transfer and to implant its knowledge to Chile. Eventually, they went inside Chilean society across the Economic department in Catholic University as a part of the Chile Pro ject. They were isolated until 1960s
about the discussion of economic issues. In fact, this intellectual model was only supported by some North American universities and some US’s elite.
Before becoming a pressured group, the influence of the school was limited to attract students. However, businessmen, right-wings politicians and university teaching stuff refused their theories so as to continue being confident that the structuralist model might reach the development. This meant a clash between both points of view that involved a dialectic fight which was started when Arnold Harberger arrived at Chile and started to confront the
ideas of Economic Commission for Latin America. It was based on Milton Friedman’s ideas to be analysed later on.
During the government of Alessandri, the economic position of this School became the main protagonist inside academician milieu after a strong doc-trinaire fight. However, they couldt apply their ideas in this period, so they were against economic policies that Alessandri governments carried out.
Alessandri government was certainly different: economic decisions were adopted within a democratic political framework. During the first period, emphasis was placed on the expansion of export and the attraction of foreign investment. However, after a while the accent shifted to an increase in public and private investment in industrial development. The main purpose was to
promote a policy of free external commerce with a stable rate of exchange in order to create favourable conditions for the import of new technologies that could allow national industry to compete in foreign markets [8]. Chicago Boys were against that state intervention in the market so they were directly opposite against the traditional economic policy.
The US restarted intervention in the region because of Fruit Company issue. The US concluded in January of 1952 a series of bilateral military agreement with individual LA states in support of hemispheric defence. As the decade progressed, Washington military assistance program expounded to encompass US military missions in eighteen countries with up to 800 military personnel, training of Latin American soldiers in US [9]. Due to Cuban revolution and United States fearing to loss their influence zone, John F. Kennedy proposed the Alliance for progress. It became the bridging mechanism for new efforts to seek social and economic change. US government wanted to accelerate the economical and social development in the region
[1]. But it was not the main reason to propose it. Moreover, this revolution broke the gentle agreement between superpowers, so the soviet Cuban lies violated the precepts of Monroe doctrine, so as a new foreign policy in the region: keeping out hostile foreign powers [9].
The US gave to South American countries this policy because of a national security problem despite they believe that internal conditions in Latin America in the 1940s and early 1950s did not seem ripe for revolution [9].
The North American government believed they had to stop an hypothetical social revolution that had began in Cuba. This process could have meant the decline of American hegemony. Many countries as Perú, Bolivia and the MRB or Costa Rica revolution, or Peron in Argentina were some examples.
So, in our opinion US didn’t impulse that program because of a development interest, but they made it so as to traditional US foreign policy towards the region. In summary, they wanted to conserve his status quo in the region and they were afraid to loss it.
But we could find a social claim in many countries where the development was imported. They were looking for a development what means an opposite model to that of dependency development [10].
Chile was not different. In this way, the Government of the democratChristians is an example. It was leadered by Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964-1970) and they had been trying to get solutions. This government was a national popular whose governance was made on a previous state structure.
This period supposed the time for obtaining new rights especially with land reform, women civil rights, etc.
There are two theories in South America which have tried to explain the development during this period (1930-1980). First, the structuralism theories took a main role about development in the zone. On the other hand, neomarxist also adapted their thinking in the continent. However,
both theories have meant a response to development and have shared some arguments.
They tried an internal market extension to be able to get a constant development in order to finish industrialisation process. In this sense, some financial mechanism appeared so as to reduce wealth gap. Moreover, some means of public power became stronger due to the defence of export economy.
Stregnthening and modernisation of state appeared as necessary instruments to obtain an efficient and effective develop policy [11].
Structuralist theories emerged in Latin America around the creation of ECLAC. This school was influenced by Keynes method, but they added an structural point of view about development. In short, they considered the structural transformation of the society and the role of the state as the only way to get develop. In that sense, they coincided with the dependency theory which was created by Faletto and Cardoso. In the first place, the increasing of the reduced domestic market was necessary in Latin America in order to start an industrialisation process.
The weakness of the Latin American countries was originated from the fact that their development could not be based on international demands and exports [12]. Therefore, they focused the industrial growth as economic strategy on importing substitution. It was the paradigm adopted by all the Latin America countries as the main development matrix.
Neo Marxist were influence by the Latin American structuralists and their analyse so it is common to find the same point of view in some issues. Frank was an important theoretical who got on with the latin American dependency theories. He considered that the international economic system had a inequality distribution around a pyramidal structure with metropolis
and satellites, and he pointed out that the mechanism for extraction of the surprise was trade. Moreover, inequality exchange of goods and services had been their faults. In this pyramidal system, the productive forces were linked in different relations and strats.
In this sense, Latin America was suffering an indirect economical imperialism where the economical surpluses were drained away. Coinciding with the Structuralism, and with Cardoso and Faletto, Frank thought that economic profiles had to been invested in the origin country. In order to get that, he proposed delinked from center economies and some socialist policies. In
that way we could find some Allende policies. In summary, he thought that all the countries in Latin America would be better off if they disassociate themselves, or totally broke the links with US and the other industrialised countries [13].
Dependency theory considered that American continent had been suffering a strong and inequality distribution of incomes, as well as a economic dependence from foreign investment.
Cardoso and Falleto pointed out that this relation must be understood in the framework of economical, social and political organization as a center-peripheral societies relation. Instead of other authors opinion, they didn’t deal peripheral concept as one conceptual group. The origin of underdevelopment was the creation of the productive global system, due to the fact that peripheral economies could be inserted in world economy as a colonial term while other could be as a national way. In addition, economies were inserted in different positions and with several functions inside the system by the process of creation of world capitalism system.
The external factors may create different impacts depending on internal conditions [13]. Agreeing with Frank, they proposed that dependency involves a way of social domination. Moreover, it entails that the only gap to get autonomy is to break links with this domination system without join up to another.
Political domination was affrmed in the fact that the development process depends –in a more or less measure– on transmission between hegemonic groups in each industrialization step. So the relations between the international and local elite and the main internal forces inside industrialization could influence this process. Another important issue is the distribution of
internal power. Summarising, democracy is considered as the most important condition for turning society development [14].
In disagreement with Frank, Cardoso regarded the national bourgeoisie as potentially powerful and able of sharping development.
2.5 Allende’s democratic decline and coup
The workers movement in Chile was born in the early twenty century. At the beginning they suffered so many repressions as Santa Maria de Iquique incidents. They had been becoming more powerful at the same time as Chilean economy was growing because of the increasing of exportation.
As a result of the weakness of the Communist and Socialist movements in main part of Latin America countries, the class action needed to join nationalist and populist movements. However, Chile represented an exception. The reasons for that difference was in the representative bases of the state which provided to the Socialist party the opportunity to conserve his autonomy[10].
Chile had been one of the countries where left parties went together during more elections and more time. Unidad Popular was openly committed to a revolutionary transformation in the socioeconomic order and the institutions framework of Chilean Politics [4]. However, Unidad Popular was so heterogeneous because all the parties were not conformed on the same way
from the social viewpoint and they neither respond to the same interest nor had the same ideology. It was a strong internal competition.
Allende was elected as President of the republic in September 9, 1970 when he obtained more than 36% of total votes. Although he did not get the majority, he was elected by the congress due to a traditional rule in Chile.
The new government made a set of reforms, for example, land reform, concept of mixed and social property, nationalisation of the copper, expropriation of foreign companies, some politics towards redistribution of wealth as the extension of the primary, secondary and university education or the unification of banks.
By the time of Allende administration, the structural development approach had been modified and extended so as to use the state as an agent for socialist transformation [15]
In September 11, 1973, the military established an authoritarian regime because of a coup that meant a breakdown of the legality and the country lived the longest period without democracy. This coup was supported by right-wings parties but also accepted by the Christian Democracy.
There are some causes that rushed the military breakdown.
Before Allende we could observe that some democratic mechanisms which controlled the executive parliamentary were reformed. These reforms gave more autonomy to the President but on the other hand, they diminished the capacity of the opposition. For example, the control of the budgetary process in 1959 was given the executive and the congress was restricted in its ability to allocate fiscal resources [4]. Moreover, there was another important reform in 1970.
Also, Christian Democratic Party appearance began Chilean way to socialism. That was so because of its ideological position which seemed to be an intermediate step between the status quo and the marxism. Nevertheless, this revolution in liberty opened a radicalization phase
on left elites, also pushed due to Cuban revolution.
The EEUU aid and fear of soviet threat promoted elites to become hostile against government and moved them to form an aggressive opposition that made demonstrations and strike, and created violent organizations as Patria y Libertad.
A polarised society emerged because of Allende’s way to govern. When combined with some measures of questionable legality to bring private business under state control, these policies alienated not only Chile’s elite corporations, but also small businessman and much of Chile’s
middle class.
An Economic crisis and a Polarization of army.
But, the destabilisation of Democracy in Chile was caused not by the decline in parties as such but by the polarisation of the complex relation between them ([3], p. 22).
From our point of view, Gramsci theories had influenced in Unidad Popular de Chile. He focused his theories on culture where he observed that occidental societies are not ready for revolution.
So he thinks that it was necessary to create an intellectual movement with different levels of knowledge and initiative. In that sense we observed that a large social net with several prepared, both governmental and organic politicians, was created in Chile. We might see it looking at UP leaders: Salvador Allende, Pablo Neruda, Volodia Teitelboim, Vıctor Jara, Balmés, etc. It is a matter of fact that there were workers and with a weighted paticipation but no so relevant as they said in the electoral program.
However some responsibilities and methods of workers participation were new. For
example, the council of management in mixed companies, land council or industrial cordon. Another important intervention mechanism was JAP which emerged when inflation and shortage attacked Chile. So we believe that it had been the unique way to get socialism by democratic system where they had got the legitimacy because of the votes. Following this trend we should remember that Allende and Popular Unity increased their electorate from
36% (1970) to 42% (1973) in parlamentary elections.
We consider that Allende government tried to put into practice democratic methods in order to apply socialist policies which represented an innovative way to protect the poor and to end with the inequality. For this reason, they put into practice some delinking policies as Frank or Cardoso
said so as to make progress. But, it was a difficult international situation inside a cold war where South America began an important issue for Superpower competition. So the local elite and the US saw threatened their status quo which had been remaining for more than 70 years. On the other hand, the lack of unity inside Unidad Popular and internal debate turned out to be
a triggered of a political crisis that Chile lived.
Moreover, both internal and external economic situation are other important factors that we consider to be as unfavorable to Allende government.
By the way, Chilean political system didn’t allow Allende to start all reforms that he had in his electoral program.
3 PINOCHET
3.1 Chicago boys inaugurated a new age
The military constituted themselves as a Junta (old independence way to govern) where Pinochet began to be Presiden as primus inter pares. They had been a repressive and authoritarian system. In fact, they destroyed the labour movement and their own parties inside the Condor Operation. They also thought that left parties were enemies of the nation so they had
to eliminate them. Moreover, in order to get it they created some national repressive institutions as DINA or CNI. Military Junta depoliticized Chilean society in order to dismantling the social forces or democratic institutions and created a new political state. It was a presidentialism based on Chilean historical values. The president also was commander in chief inside army institution. That meant a new total unification between civils and military after 1840, the last time that it happened.
Pinochet became as the main member and was named as Supreme Chief of the nation by a decret-law that established the legislative exercise and the constitutional powers on Junta’s president. Pinochet was consolidated due to four factors [4]:
Pinochet and his advisors were able to draw on the framework of traditional constitutional legality to justify one man rule.
They could rely on the discipline and nature of the armed forces on the growing power of the secret police.
They enjoyed the strong and uncritical support of many of the business community and sectors of the middle class.
they were able to take advantage of continued sharp divisions amongthe members of the opposition. The prevailing matrix was broken after Allende because of a new monetary orthodoxy which was inaugurated with opening trade and anti-isolationism policies that altered this interventionist matrix since 1930 [7].
After the coup, General Pinochet decided to handpick some Chicago Boys as responsibles of economic policy. As a result, they were allowed to carry out their theory of development.
Chicago School began by accepting as sacrosanct the private property.
The state was going to the noninterventionism and to allow the market forces to dominate. As the emphasis was on permitting the market to operate as freely as possible, a minimum of government regulation and maximal privatization were needed [15].
The Chicago boys inaugurated a new age that was a neoliberal process which is divided in two different periods. The first one, more dogmatic, covered until 1982 crisis. Then, Pinochet appointed another minister who put into practise other readjusted policies.
Furthermore, Chicago boys inaugurated a neoliberal process where took structural reforms as anti-inflation and adjustments in internal balance, as well as fiscal reform, commercial opening, financial liberation, privatization, labor and Social security reform.
Contrarily to Allende’s policies, who developed an economic politic in order to create state and mixed companies, during Chicago Boys age there has been a concentration of wealth in private economy due to the sell of national companies by CORFO which was used to do it. So this process was based on directly selling of companies towards domestic economic conglomerates.
However, external debt was multiplied by six for ten years so as a consequence of neoliberal policies applied by Chicago Boys. It was so because of the market opening with low taxes – in opposition to structuralism – which involved a destruction of the national industry. Hence, the number of families living under the poverty line increased from 30% to 40%.
From our point of view, the total breaking with the previous model of development was traumatic for the poverty. So it opened a big gap between the richest andthe poorest Chileans. Chile was managed to a permanent situation inside social Chilean structure because of the total lack of the state intervention about distributive policies.
This economic stratification has been inherited for more than three generations due to the absence of mechanisms and institutional lack of social mobility, or at least some policies that did not give opportunities so as to ease negatives effects of neoliberal policies towards weaker population.
In this sense we find nowadays a better situation in educational rates, health rates or property access but it is consequence of the high level family debts, as an investment from old to new generation by credit.
3.2 Regional isolation
An international conflict between Chile and Argentina was ready to take place in 1978 because of the Beagle sovereignty. This problem had a historical and geopolitical background.
First, the canal of Beagle is situated in Patagonia. On the other hand, this part of the world was not colonised until the nineteenth century. Furthermore, there was an important trading
seaspace, as we could see in Malvinas colonisation by Britain in 1830.
General Galtieri proclaimed the Britain solution null. After Argentinian refused the Queen solution, both started to move troops towards the South. North American hegemony could not allow a war in his influence zone.
Then, they made pression to both states and also to the Vaticano in order to get a mediation. Finally, they joined to the Vaticano solution. However, the relations had no longer been good until democratic transitions. It supposed a bad condition to Chilean development. On that way, Malvinas war was again another time of tension.
On the other hand, Pinochet had been trying to improve relations with their neighbours in the North. The Diplomatic relations with Bolivia were rebooted in 1975 by the military Junta due to the fact that another military was governing. There were like an hypothetical transfer of sovereignty between these two states.
The negotiations and the agreement were broken in 1978 once again by Bolivia because of Peruan complaint which was based on a peruan right to be consulted about that issue.
Once Banzer was overthrowed from the presidency, Walter Guevara founded a new Bolivian policy about their bordering conflict against Chile. Then, he focused his foreign policy on getting a new stage, involving Perú in a settlement of the conflict. In a nutshell, Chilean isolation in the region was evident.
3.3 Second age of Pinochet
The debt crisis started when Mexico announced that they were not going to continue paying it. A bit early, Tequila crisis was extended to other South American States. Therefore, from the economic perspective, the region lived a non growth age which is called the lost decade. Chile was the exception because of their sustained growth after 1984. It is to be remembered that
Chile was the unique country who continued receiving debt, as a sign of US support to Pinochets policies.
The crisis had devastating consequences for the region. First it happened a double fiscal crisis because of the deterioration of social policies and the negative rate in their balance of payments which generated debt.
It also increased the percentage of the population who lived below the poverty line. Moreover, it triggered high rates of inflaction, as well as high rates of unemployment and low level of national investment.
There were some external factors that hurried this crisis: partial breaking of commercial and financial Latin American links with world economy.Furthermore, in the North emerged a critical theory against the state intervention.
This economic crisis entailed a necessity of structural reforms from both the economical and political point of view. Neoliberalism considered that this set of structural policies werea necessary condition to growth [16].
Chile was the only one recovering the foreign investment in the early 90’s. His annual growth from 1973 to 1990 was 1,5%. However, from 1983 to 1990 the growth was sound and share with 6,5% rates. But also Chile who was the paradigm of neoliberal model had some deviations from the purity.
Chile was the first Latin American state that started privatizations, financial liberalization, taxes reform, as introduction of Value Added Tax or another indirect taxes, as well as a pension reform.
These reforms diminished the old predominant role of the Chilean state in the economy in such a deep way that financial liberation and pension reform made that private companies started to manages several competencies that state had been managing before.
Until 1981 reform, the pension system was redistributive by the way of intergeneracional transference.
It entailed an hypothetical deficit when the growth was low. Thus, Neoliberal doctrine impulsed to reduce state deficit toward minimum which supposed that it reduced monetary expansion, rather than increased import taxes as structuralist said, and on the other hand, it entailed that pension system started to be based on individual capitalization. From this moment,
pensions are a direct function of each worker contribution, as well as, from the profitability of AFP investment that workers have joined during their labour life. So the incentive to not to declare is lower and the savings increase [16].
After 1982 debt crisis, the second neoliberal period was opened by a low change in macroeconomic politic orientation which continued being a neoliberal character, but it arised several deviations inside the model. Therefore, the new minister set a new policy with an increasing of taxes over non traditional imported goods.
The concentration of wealth and deficient distribution of incomes continued. However, the minister disguised another privatization wave under the name of people capitalism where the government offered to buy stock from Chilean companies to every Chileans [15]. At the end, Chileans did not have enough money to invest and big stock packets were bought by transnational foreign companies.
In our opinion, this financially opened policy made good macroeconomic results, but it also entailed some devastating consequences to the state which lost the implementation and even decision power. In this sense, big transnational companies from Europe and North America controlled telecommunications, roads and motorways, pensions, electricity and even water management. It means that the size of state became smaller, with a loss capability of initiative about development of policy agenda. For example we see it in Pascua Lama Pro ject or Patagonia hydroelectric dam. In summary, the companies often are in fact able to influence on agendas and policies in small size institutional states.
We also observe that privatization process in developing countries might leave traditional state competencies as education, health or pensions in transnational hands. This is not possible in a welfare center state. Contrarily to that, Chilean society is going away from the traditional
ways of governability- the representation feeling is decreasing- in order to build social networks of protest which are able to manage towards a higher governance.
3.4 Transition
The opposition against the Military Junta became stronger in 80’s decade. Then, Christian Democrats turned their position so as to defend human rights and they started to join some left party.
At the same time of economic crisis, a state crisis emerged. Social claims started and elites readapted themselves. Elite groups, in addition to traditional political parties, mobilized the protest against the continuation of authoritarian rules and to negotiate the military back to barracks. Civilian elites met to negotiate pacts that would easy the transition to the civilian
and democratic regimes [17].
Since 1983, some demonstration tried to crack the authoritarian system. In this sense it followed a chain of disturbance across Chilean society as students strike which meant the rise of PROFESES, as well as labour and ‘desaparecidos’ demonstration.
The transition process were helped by the external financing to the opposition as from the international structure of the national parties, for example the international socialist [10] as from US’s human right program [1]. We also might show that the global opinion turned to be an important factor, as well as the 1988 plebiscite meant a political opportunity. They formed a multiparty Concertación according to 1980 Constitution. In fact, it was the unique way which was establised to being a candidature. Christian Democrats, PPD, PS and Radical Party were formed a coalition of parties so as to win the 1988 Plebiscite which was the chance to overthrow the regime. In the coalition, the Communists appeared as an excluded force inside the game.
However,they supported the same position against Pinochet than the Concertacion.
According to 1980 Constitution, General elections were announced, and the process leaded to a presidential election where Patricio Aylwyn was elected as the same time as the Concertación of parties became a hegemonic coalition and they played a principal role.
The opposition of Pinochet were by far more rooted in society than the military leaders had believed; they gradually rebuilt their lies to militants and followers and slunned Pinochet by defearing him decisively in his own plebiscite on September 11, 1988 [4].
However, it was not an easy process. As Linz and Caverrozi believed,Chilean military entered in a strong position in the transition process rather than other dictators of Latin America. It was so because they created the constitution which established rules.
4 The democracy and the new way to get the
development
In march 1990, it carried out the transmission of the power. Aylwin inherited state structures that the old regime imposed by 1980 Constitution. The involved strong difficulties in order to start reforms that knock out Pinochet’s regimen remained. In addition, the new government had to accept old rules. In this sense, transition was an unfinished process because it did not mean a break with the previous state, it was just that, as well as elites, it was reconverted. We may see it in the fact that Aylwin had to share competencies with other institution wth a not really democratic rigin.
In this sense we remark that the constitution authorized Pinochet and the armed forces to designated nine senators. Not surprisingly the designated voted with the other conservatives to block many of Aylwin’s proposal ([18],
p. 214).
We also remark the fact that Pinochet had conserved the commandant in chief position until 1998, as well as the senatorial immunity which didn’t allow Garzon Spanish judge to extradite him.
Another factor of the democratic weakness was the ‘final point’ about the purge of responsibility from the previous regimen which has been difficult and hard so as to judge the violation of human rights. An additional difficulty was that every new law or proposal had to be passed by Constitutional court before its promulgation.
However, the power relations are never static. The relative power of the democratic government vis a vis the military forces began to grow after Aylwin inauguration because of its elected origin [19].
Presidential strategy had two faces: presidential appearance and declaration and on the other hand they got some agreement with the right-wing parties as for Municipal elections in 1992.
The democratic Chile put into practice an economic strategy that underpined a more active state in order to the persecution of growth and equality simultaneously [16].
It developed a more neostructuralist model but with the continuity of certain neoliberal policies as the open market that gave so good results in growing and investment perspective. Since the 1982 debt crisis the deficit reduction has largely been archived at the expenses of less public investment in infrastructure. This was possible because of the introduction of new financial ways such as concessions ([20], p. 64). For example, some Spanish companies have got in Chile concessions for more than 50 years if they build a new infrastructure.
Therefore, Aylwin government got a better result in the economic sphere, with a substantial increasing of productivity and a growth around 6,5%, than in social aspects, because of trade union strengthness, a raise of salary, increasing of investment, establisment of minimal pensions and reduction of poverty.
Frei government started to create contra-cyclical policies- as neoestructuralists had been demanding- reducing the rate of families who lived under the poverty line. They also updated all military command, as well as Pinochet left the position of chief of the army, and it even started some judgment in order to recover the forgoten memory.
About International relations, the two first Concertación governments were able, under the hope from recovered democracy, to solve some problems which were imbedded in his relation with his neighbor. Then, they signedtreaties and agreements that turned out to be an important factor in order to improve the Chilean development. For example, oil agreement with Argentina, or the treaty of definite limits between Frei and Menem. Chile was the first South American state to request membership of NAFTA ([21], p.275). At the beginning Chile only wanted to be an associated member of MERCOSUR. During these periods, Chile also went inside international or-
ganisations which played a main role in economical and political life in Latin American. However, Asian Crisis in 1997 demonstrated that financial and economical liberalization may generate deep instabilities in macro-economy if they are not accompanied with an institutional frame.
Lagos government emphasized the social and contracycling policies as CEPAL said, but it was not sufficient in order to grow the state size. His foreign policy lived some tension moment with all of their neighbors but it was overcomed by a presidential and personalist way. In this sense, Lagos
signed free trade agreements with the European Union, M´exico, Canada and US [18]. Another success of Lagos government was the appointment of Jose Miguel Insulza as a President of American States Organization.
Finally, Bachelet government has been spending a large amount of money that state are getting from cooper profits in order to implement social policies as university scholarships, bicentenary scholarship, etc. At the same time, Bachelet has developed a foreign policy toward South America as we could see in gas pipeline agreement or bioceanical corridor, the negotiation with
Bolivia so as to improve their relations about eighteen topics, her personal relation with Cristina Kirchner or the Chilean presidency of UNASUR.
5 Conclusions
Chile has been able to combine successfully the democratic institution consolidation and the structural economic reform, so as to lead a good economic dynamism. Therefore, is one of the regional countries who has more reduced its poverty rates as well as its illiteracy rates that is less than 2,5%. However, it is a matter of fact that the difference between the most and least incomes population has increased, as one of the greater around the world. In spite of contracyclical policies, it is necessary to implement the state investment in public policies in order to have better distribute incomes. This request to give value to national products by a competencial specification.
Peace, democracy and security -human rights- are basic conditions to get the development. We could see it in the increasing of social and political rights or in social stability, as well as in the improvement of regional and integrational relations.
International relations in South America have changed from a bilateral to a multilateral perspective due to globalization. Historically, Chilean governments faced up the neighbor conflicts from a bilateral point of view which meant a direct negotiation between states inspite of Treaty of peace and friendship of Pacific War that established a tree scenario. The globalization
process has impulsed the improvement in neighbor relations because of a bigger interdependency and connections. So it is necessary to strength the new regionalism and integrationism. Moreover, it is necessary to extend these processes in order to get a better and strong insertion of South America, as well as more equality, inside global market. The countries whose development is based on export, are weaker against hypothetical turbulences in the global
market. In summary, it is because of the volatility of the change with respect to Dolar or Euro. Thus, South America needs to strengh and to go deeper in a free trade union that may molding as an important economic zone because we consider that global world is going to be divided into free trade economic zones. However, they must develop their own political institutions if they
want to get a better development because each zone will need different levels of institutions. In this sense, Political institutions require to overcome old conflicts between states and the wish of different states in order to transfer certain competential levels is also required.
Chilean presidentialism system was more inefficient because of the increased of president power by Parliament reduction. In Allende’s case, had the situation been remaining as years ago, it would had to require negotiation in order to make reforms and it could represent a higher percentage of Chilean population. In this case, the gap between classes might have been
alleviate. Moreover, according to Huntigton, high rates of participation and mobilization had had negatives consequences in the institutional process in developing countries. However, the new presidential system of coalition and double round may generate more stability due to the reduction of the political spectrum. In spite of that, we can not forget that in Chile a switch
off process between civil society and party system is happening, what shows certain crisis inside liberal and presidential system. This delinked groups are looking for new ways of participation. So this new democratic process is been demanded by them. In this sense, the state must return to be the negotiation place between productive forces. Semipresidentialism could be the solution
in order to create a stronger Parliament. Moreover, the decentralisation process could lead these non represented sectors to return inside politic again.
Participatory democracy might be one of this necessary reform in municipal environment because local policies are legitimized by outputs which are more visible for population. However, political reforms are difficult as we analysed in the transition.
In this sense, the delinkage of this group is born in the transition because of the communist and left parties isolation. The transition process was provided by US and other European countries due to the communism decline, disintegration of Chilean labour movement, isolation of the communism party due to coalitions of socialisst, radicals and christian democrats. So it was not only a human right policy because political and economic structures were establised by the dictator supported by the US.
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