Neoliberalism in Chile
In this paper, I argue that Neoliberalism is the product of an extreme leftist movement and US intervention that Chile’s former dictator, Augusto Pinochet who ruled between the years 1973 and 1990, used to transform Chile into an economic power during the wound down of the cold war era. This essay first analyses the US’s fears of communism taking root in Latin America and the extreme measures the US took throughout Latin America in brainwashing military personnel and promoting military coups. Secondly, I will identify and discuss the tipping points resulting from the left wing going too far. And Third, I will explain the contributing factors in the process by which neoliberalism was implemented in Chile by Augusto Pinochet as a tool to achieve his national project to remake Chile into a society that would uphold his values of private entrepreneurship and economic freedom that would keep the United States and Chileans at bay.
US Anxiety
To begin, I want to start off with the USA’s anxiety of communism taking root in Latin America and how Chile got into the spotlight of the Nixon administration. This was in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis and President Eisenhower investing in a war on communism in all of Latin America primarily Cuba at the time. The US failed against the fight against socialism in Cuba however the US ramped up its involvement in the other americas by investing in the individual Latin American countries militaries and counter insurgency programs through military training, providing military equipment, providing a “School of the Americas” to help counter communism, and even trained military and police how to perform electroshock torture to get information from r...
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...lowed for neoliberalism to take place and ultimately reshape Chile into the well rounded country it is today.
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The relationship between the working class and Allende is definitely a difficult to understand because it's hard to understand how a political party is supported by the same group who contributes to their downfall. The working class was not the only reason Allende lost power, but was a heavy contributor. The working class seemed to only use Allende as a reason to enforce reform, and Allende used the working class as a group of supporters. The two groups could only agree on the fact that Chile needed serious social change, and Allende was the best shot they had.
Models for post-revolutionary Latin American government are born of the complex economic and social realities of 17th and 18th century Europe. From the momentum of the Enlightenment came major political rebellions of the elite class against entrenched national monarchies and systems of power. Within this time period of elitist revolt and intensive political restructuring, the fundamental basis for both liberal and conservative ideology was driven deep into Latin American soil. However, as neither ideology sought to fulfill or even recognize the needs or rights of mestizo people under government rule, the initial liberal doctrine pervading Latin American nations perpetuated racism and economic exploitation, and paved the way for all-consuming, cultural wars in the centuries to come.
The first turning point in hope for the Chilean road to socialism was that of the election of Salvador Allende as president, which gave many Yarur workers the belief that a ‘workers government’ was on their side. “For the first time, a self-proclaimed ‘workers government’ ruled Chile, dominated by the Left and Pledged to socialist revolution” (Winn, 53). Allende’s role as president gave identity to the Yarur workers that they were being represented and because of so, their struggles of working in the factory conditions set by Amador Yarur would come to an end. This identification with Allende as being represented by there own voice became the first stepping-stone to the demand for socialization of the factory. “The election of a ‘Popular Government’ was a signal...
Time and rules have been transforming countries in many ways; especially, in the 1850’s and the 1920’s, when liberals were firmly in control across Latin American region. Liberalism can be defined as a dominant political philosophy in which almost every Latin American country was affected. A sense of progress over tradition, reason over faith, and free market over government control. Although each country was different, all liberals pursued similar policies. They emphasize on legal equality for all citizens, progress, free trade, anti-slavery, and removing power from church. Liberals declared promising changes for Latin American’s future. But Latin America had a stronger hierarchical society with more labor systems, nothing compare to the United States societies. Liberals weren’t good for Latin America. What I mean by “good” is the creation of a turning point or some type of contribution towards success. I define “good” as beneficial or helpful. The Latin American economy was stagnant between 1820 and 1850 because of independence wars, transportation and the recreation of facilities. I describe this era as, “the era when Latin America when off road”.
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During the second half of the twentieth century, when the Cold War was on its midst, the United States played an important role in world affairs. The increasing military power that the United States had during the Cold War, allowed it to influence the political decisions that many countries had during this time. The United States directly opposed the idea of communism, which the Soviet Union promoted. This conflict between this two great powers, lasted for five decades, and it tremendously affected the political ideologies of the world. Both countries tried to push their political and economic interest to as many nations as they could, especially those close to their borders. During this time, Guatemala was undergoing a social revolution with communist ideas. The revolution happened as a response to the social injustice committed by the United Fruit Company. The United Fruit Company started to lose land, due to a land reform passed b...
Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007). Latin America: an interpretive history (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Before the 1960s, four thousand six hundred nine miles southeast of Texas, Chile was known as a stable country compared other Latin American countries until 1962, when the Cold War took effect on this enormous country and Chile became a part of the Alliance for Progress. The Alliance for Progress was created to keep socialistic revolutions out of Latin American countries. In the 1960s, the president of Chile, Eduardo Frei was endorsed by the Johnson administration. Frei was required to pass a radical reform but with Chile becoming more industrialized, Labor Unions requested for higher and reasonable wages. In the end, the Labor Unions were not pleased with the wages that they were receiving which, lead to inflation and higher prices for man made items and labor. With an economic change occurring, the Chilean youth adopted a Leftist view and began to protest against the government with the labor unions. Both ...
Neoliberalism is a form of economic liberalism that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade, and relatively open markets. Neoliberals seek to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the political/economic priorities of the world and are generally supporters of economic globalization. During the 1930s and the late 1970s most Latin American countries used the import substitution industrialization model to build industry and reduce dependency on imports from foreign countries. The result of the model in these c...
Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007). Latin America: an interpretive history (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
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