Dominant Elites in Latin America: From Neo-Liberalism to the ‘Pink Tide’ (Latin American Political Economy)

This volume examines the ways in which the socio-economic elites of the region have transformed and expanded the material bases of their power from the inception of neo-liberal policies in the 1970s through to the so-called progressive 'pink tide' governments of the past two decades. The six case study chapters--on Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala--variously explore how state policies and even United Nations peace-keeping missions have enhanced elite control of land and agricultural exports, banks and insurance companies, wholesale and import commerce, industrial activities, and alliances with foreign capital. Chapters also pay attention to the ways in which violence has been deployed to maintain elite power, and how international forces feed into sustaining historic and contemporary configurations of power Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 Editors and Contributors 10 Abbreviations 12 List of Figures 16 List of Tables 17 Chapter 1 Introduction—Reconfiguring Domination: Case Studies from Latin America 18 Introduction 18 Histories of Domination 22 The Six Case Studies 27 Concluding Remarks 33 References 35 Chapter 2 The Paradox of the Neoliberal Developmentalist State: Reconstructing the Capitalist Elite in Pinochet’s Chile 39 Introduction 39 The Chicago Boys and the Revolutionary State 41 The Reconstruction of Finance 43 Reconstruction and Subsumption of Agriculture 51 State Supports, Subsidies, and Credits 54 Financial Crisis and Re-privatization 55 The Chilean Capitalist Elite Today 57 Conclusion: Was the Capitalist Revolution Too Successful? 63 References 66 Chapter 3 Quasi-post-neoliberal Brazil: Social Change Amidst Elite Adaptation and Metamorphosis 73 Introduction 73 Brazil’s History of Class Adaptation and Metamorphosis 74 The Context of Lula’s Presidential Election in 2002 77 A “New Social Contract” 81 Class Adaptation and Metamorphosis 87 Final Thoughts 97 References 100 Chapter 4 Concentration of Assets and Poverty Reduction in Post-neoliberal Ecuador 109 Introduction 109 Land Concentration and Lack of Agrarian Reform 111 The Concentration of Income and Assets in the Urban and National Economies 116 Poverty and Inequality: Labour’s Share 122 Policy Alternatives for Reducing Poverty and Inequality 125 Conclusions 129 References 132 Chapter 5 Rural Colombia: The Architecture of State-Sponsored Violence and New Power Configurations 135 Introduction 135 The Historical Phases of Political and Armed Conflict 141 New Powers, Illegal Economies, and Dispossession 144 Antioquia and the Magdalena Medio: The Militarization of Agrarian Conflict 148 The Peace Process: Mapping Local and Regional Histories 154 Conclusions 156 References 161 Chapter 6 The Reconsolidation of Oligarchic Rule in El Salvador: The Contours of Neo-liberal Transformation 165 Introduction 165 The “Old” Coffee Oligarchy 167 The Crisis of the Old Order and the Rise of ARENA 170 A Strategic Political Shift and a Neo-liberal Peace 173 Structural Transformation of the Salvadoran Economy 175 The Neo-liberal Programme and the Reconfiguration of the Oligarchy 178 The “New” Salvadoran Oligarchy 186 Concluding Remarks 190 References 192 Chapter 7 Land and the Reconfiguration of Power in Post-conflict Guatemala 196 Introduction 196 Crafting the Transition 197 Managing Power Relations 201 Militarized Extraction: The Post-transition Order 207 References 213 Chapter 8 The Limits of Democratization and Social Progress: Domination and Dependence in Latin America 220 Introduction 220 Advances During the Boom: Improvements to Socioeconomic Conditions and Governance 222 The Persistence of Structural Obstacles: National Power Structures 225 The Persistence of Structural Obstacles: International Power Structures 230 Latin America After the Commodity Super-cycle 236 References 240 Index 244 Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Introduction—Reconfiguring Domination: Case Studies from Latin America (Liisa L. North)....Pages 1-21 The Paradox of the Neoliberal Developmentalist State: Reconstructing the Capitalist Elite in Pinochet’s Chile (Timothy D. Clark)....Pages 23-56 Quasi-post-neoliberal Brazil: Social Change Amidst Elite Adaptation and Metamorphosis (Simone Bohn)....Pages 57-92 Concentration of Assets and Poverty Reduction in Post-neoliberal Ecuador (Carlos A. Larrea, Natalia Greene)....Pages 93-118 Rural Colombia: The Architecture of State-Sponsored Violence and New Power Configurations (Luis van Isschot)....Pages 119-148 The Reconsolidation of Oligarchic Rule in El Salvador: The Contours of Neo-liberal Transformation (Carlos Velásquez Carrillo)....Pages 149-179 Land and the Reconfiguration of Power in Post-conflict Guatemala (Simon Granovsky-Larsen)....Pages 181-204 The Limits of Democratization and Social Progress: Domination and Dependence in Latin America (Timothy D. Clark, Liisa L. North)....Pages 205-228 Back Matter ....Pages 229-239 Annotation This volume examines the ways in which the socio-economic elites of the region have transformed and expanded the material bases of their power from the inception of neo-liberal policies in the 1970s through to the so-called progressive 'pink tide' governments of the past two decades