Business Politics and the State in Twentieth-Century Latin America

Abstract

This is the first systematically comparative and historical analysis of the incorporation of business into politics in Latin America, examining business organizing and political activity over the last century in five of the largest, most developed countries of the region. Why did business end up better organized in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico than in Argentina and Brazil? The explanation for the surprising cross-national variations lays neither in economic characteristics of business nor broader political parameters, but in the cumulative effect of actions of state actors. The book also considers the consequences of these differences in organization and finds that stronger encompassing associations offer government officials opportunities for concerted policy making with business that can enhance policy implementation. The strong hand of the state in organizing business has important implications not only for theories of collective action, but also for our understanding of civil society and its potential to promote democratization.

Introduction

“…35 In his study of Latin America, Schneider argues that society-specific forms of business organization need to be analyzed beyond the stable features of the institutional setting in which they are formed by taking into account the strategic actions of political actors seeking to modify and redefine these forms. 36 Schneider's in-depth historical investigation of the ways in which Latin American governments organized and disorganized business throughout the twentieth century provides useful insights for the analysis of the politically driven character of the associational environment in Turkey.…”

Os imperativos do Brasil no desafiador espaço regional da América do Sul: uma visão da economia política internacional

“…Como observou Schneider (2004), os executivos tendem a se interessar especialmente por suporte e agregação quando eles estão no meio de iniciativas arriscadas para mudar as estratégias gerais de desenvolvimento e invocam as associações empresariais para prestar vários tipos de assistência, a começar por tarefas muito simples, como a obtenção de mais informações sobre o setor da economia que é o objeto de elaboração de políticas. Claramente, então, há um lado da política doméstica para a política comercial, uma relação de "ancoragem", como diz Bianculli (2010) apropriadamente.…”

Beyond the BRICs: Alternative Strategies of Influence in the Global Politics of Development

“…Power projection in the context of international organisations requires attention to domestic politics more broadly. Institutionalist analyses have long argued that sectorally determined business interests (Shafer, 1994) and the relative power of different and often contending business groups (Schneider, 2004) crucially shape the development policies chosen by a particular country. As some of the case studies assembled in this special issue illustrate, this perspective can be fruitfully extended to international policymaking.…”