Chile's Neoliberal Agrarian Transformation and the Peasantry

Bibliographic Data

ID3034840
AuthorsC Kay (0000-0002-9727-7596, corresponding author)
Year2002
Volume2
Issue4
Pages464-501
Publication date2002-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Agrarian Change (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1471-0358 • E-ISSN: 1471-0366
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1471-0366.00043
OpenAlexW2115473099
LanguageEN
Citations received54

In the mid-1970s, following the early shift to neoliberalism, the Chilean rural sector was restructured dramatically, becoming one of the most successful cases of non-traditional agricultural export (NTAE) growth. However, many analysts fail to discuss the problematic nature of Chile's integration into the global market. Underpinning this rapid growth of NTAEs is the exploitation of cheap peasant labour, especially seasonal female wage workers. This article examines the elements of continuity and change in agrarian policy since the transition to democracy in 1990. In particular, it presents the policy debate on the future of the peasantry: capitalization or proletarianization? The dilemma that policy makers face over maintaining high rates of NTAE growth while at the same time attempting to reduce poverty and income inequalities are also highlighted. The Chilean case can be considered as paradigmatic insofar as it exhibits key characteristics of the classical capitalist transformation of agriculture: the emergence of a new class of dynamic agricultural entrepreneurs, renewed proletarianization and land concentration, and intensification of social differentiation

Agrarian society · Agrarian system · Agriculture · Development economics · Dilemma · Economic system · Economics · Geography · Neoliberalism (international relations · Peasant · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Proletarianization · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Political Economy and Marxism

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub