The Political Dynamic of Redistribution in Unequal Democracies: The Center-Left Governments of Chile and Uruguay in Comparative Perspective

• DOI: 10.1177/0094582X18806827
• Author: Florencia Antía
• Published date: 01 January 2019
• Date: 01 January 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 224, Vol. 46 No. 1, January 2019, 152–166

DOI: 10.1177/0094582X18806827

© 2018 Latin American Perspectives

152

The Political Dynamic of Redistribution

in Unequal Democracies

The Center-Left Governments of Chile and Uruguay in

Comparative Perspective

by

Florencia Antía

Translated by

Margot Olavarria

The redistributive reforms carried out by center-left governments in Chile and Uruguay in

the 2000s affected the core interests of economic elites. Efforts to increase taxes on high-income

sectors and reform the institutions that regulate the capital-labor relationship produced differ-

ent results in the two countries. While Uruguay adopted significant reforms, reforms in Chile

were marginal in 2000–2010 and moderate in 2014–2016. Their different trajectories are

related to different configurations of the distribution of power resources between the elites and

the social organizations that represent the interests of low-income sectors.

Las reformas redistributivas llevadas a cabo por los gobiernos de centro-izquierda en

Chile y Uruguay en la década de 2000 afectaron los intereses centrales de las élites

económicas. Los esfuerzos para aumentar los impuestos a los sectores de altos ingresos y

reformar las instituciones que regulan la relación capital-trabajo produjeron resultados

diferentes en los dos países. Mientras que Uruguay adoptó reformas significativas, las

reformas en Chile fueron marginales en 2000–2010 y moderadas en 2014–2016. Sus dife-

rentes trayectorias están relacionadas con diferentes configuraciones de la distribución de

recursos de poder entre las élites y las organizaciones sociales que representan los intereses

de los sectores de bajos ingresos.

Keywords: Politics, Redistribution, Power, Chile, Uruguay

Inequality has historically been one of the main problems of Latin American

societies. Over the years, redistribution of income and wealth has had a mar-

ginal place on the political agendas of these countries. In the twenty-first cen-

tury, the situation throughout the region has begun to change, and considerable

attention is now being given to inequality (Roberts, 2014; Silva, 2009). This

article examines the conditions under which center-left governments can carry

out redistributive reform by studying the politics of redistribution in two

democracies with high levels of inequality, Chile and Uruguay, that display

Florencia Antía is an assistant professor of political science at the Universidad de la República,

Uruguay, and a member of the national research system of that country. Her research focuses on

issues of comparative political economy, with particular interest in social policy and the politics

of redistribution in Latin America. Margot Olavarria is a translator living in New York City.

806827LAPXXX10.1177/0094582X18806827Latin American PerspectivesAntía / Redistribution In Chile And Uruguay

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