Class Conflict and the Ascent of Globalized Business Groups Under Chile’s Dictatorship: A Case Study of the Copper Manufacturing Industry

Abstract

Scholars often hold that Chilean business groups’ ascent under the Pinochet dictatorship (1973–1990), as well as subsequent elected administrations, reflect the neoliberal policies of these governments, and particularly their successful promotion of growth and innovation. This chapter analyzes MADECO/Nexans, Chile’s largest copper manufacturer, owned by the Luksic family, the country’s leading business group, and its interaction with authoritarian and democratic regimes. It highlights the state’s central role in promoting traditional and new business groups’ ascent through privatization, trade liberalization, repression, and anti-union labor policies. Based on 100 interviews with workers and managers, participant observation, and archival research, this chapter shows that the Luksic Group’s meteoric rise and the MADECO union’s gradual decline reflect continuities in state influence on business and labor across democratic and authoritarian regimes rather than a radical shift from state controls to free markets.