Introduction

Abstract

Chilean agriculture and rural society experienced dramatic changes after the 1973 military coup, which signalled the beginning of the application of neo-liberal policies in the countryside. The land reforms carried out during the 1960s and early 1970s were reversed and some expropriated estates returned to their previous owners. The rest was divided into smaller plots and distributed. The markets for land and labour were liberalised. Emphasis was put on international specialisation according to comparative advantage, and on exports. The agricultural trade balance went into surplus for the first time in decades. Basic foodstuff output fell in relative terms, as compared with export agriculture, and also in absolute terms in some years. Crop specialisation between geographical regions became more marked than ever before. With crucial differences between geographical regions, peasantry increased in both numbers and qualitative importance, as the temporary nature of many agricultural tasks became more pronounced. The traditional patterns of rural-rural and rural-urban migration were altered substantially. Rural entrepreneurs appear as increasingly more dynamic and aggressive. Peasant organisations, never very strong, have been further weakened. Foreign investment by transnational firms has become frequent. Some of these developments, good and bad, constituted the culmination of processes started several decades ago.