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Journal articles by Claudio Robles
Historia Agraria Revista de agricultura e historia rural
This article examines the development of Chilean agrarian historiography in the last four decades... more This article examines the development of Chilean agrarian historiography in the last four decades, by means of an introductory overview organized as a chronological reconstruction. It selectively focuses on relevant authors and works, the problems and questions they addressed, their main arguments and contributions, as well as their flaws and limitations. In doing so, the article constructs debates that never took place, because development of this field has been limited by the scarcity of specialized works, the different contexts in which they were produced, and the lack of institutional spaces for systematic debate. Agrarian historiography has only recently become a distinctive discipline in Chile and is therefore an incipient field. In the last fifteen years, a new revisionist agrarian historiography has begun to revitalize the study of Chilean rural history through critical dialogue with foundational interpretations from the 1970s, leaving behind the conventional reiterations of...
Journal of Agrarian Change, 2018
This article examines the political conflict in rural society during the Popular Unity Government... more This article examines the political conflict in rural society during the Popular Unity Government (1970–73) by focusing on the mobilization of forestry workers in Panguipulli, a district in southern Chile. Adopting land invasions as their main strategy in the struggle for land and power, Panguipulli workers experienced a radical politicization by aligning themselves with the Peasant Revolutionary Movement, the “peasant front” of the Revolutionary Left Movement. Because of its relation with this emerging “new left,” rural mobilization was a significant expression of the “revolution from below”, which challenged the Popular Unity's “Chilean road to socialism.” Moreover, because rural mobilization also took place in other areas throughout Chile where the Revolutionary Left Movement was influential, it gave rise to a grassroots project for radicalizing the government's agrarian reform. As a result, the rural “revolution from below” strongly influenced the content and trajectory of political conflict under the Popular Unity Government.
Using a variety of new sources directly pertaining to different types of rural estate, and contra... more Using a variety of new sources directly pertaining to different types of rural estate, and contrary to interpretations of rural Chile as a traditional society unaffected by economic modernisation, this article analyses the transition of the hacienda system in central Chile towards agrarian capitalism during the period of export-led growth from the 1860s to 1930. It argues that the expansion of the ‘landowner enterprise’, along with developments in mechanisation and irrigation, resulted in the marginalisation of the precarious ‘peasant enterprises’ operated by tenants and the gradual proletarianisation of the agricultural workforce. The development of agrarian capitalism transformed the collective action of rural workers, which assumed modern forms such as strikes and unionisation, and thus became significant in national politics. The first wave of rural conflicts, which took place in the early 1920s, can therefore be understood as the response of the emerging rural working class to the agrarian expansion that Chile experienced as part of the process of capitalist modernisation.
Key Words: Chile; agrarian capitalism; hacienda system; rural workers; inquilinos; Arturo Alessandri; strikes; FOCh
Through a study of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura (SNA)'s role in the economic policy debat... more Through a study of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura (SNA)'s role in the economic policy debate over the 1889 and 1897 tariff reforms, as well as of its participation in the agricultural equipment business until the beginning of the 1920s, this article demonstrates that fostering technological innovation, and mechanization in particular, was a key component of the strategy this entrepreneurial association adopted in the political economy of the period from José Manuel Balmaceda's government to Arturo Alessandri's first administration. The paper establishes also that the dominance large foreign importing companies gained in the capital goods market, led to a restricted supply of agricultural machinery, which was an obstacle to the further diffusion of mechanization and limited agriculturists' investments.
Keywords: SNA; agriculture; economic policy; mechanization; SFF; industry.
Through the analysis of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura’s role in the debate on tariff refor... more Through the analysis of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura’s role in the debate on tariff reforms, this article examines economic policy as the result of the conflicts of interests between the state and entrepreneurial sectors in mid-nineteenth century Chile. This approach shows that in the oligarchic public sphere those sectors used economic
doctrines –proteccionism and free trade– as legitimazing discourses for their demands. Such was the case with the agrarian interests, which, despite their adherence to
the free trade paradigm, in this period employed protectionist arguments to substantiate their demand for a regime of tax exemption for agricultural machinery imports, and to
request that economic policy be an instrument to foster national industry
This article analyzes the development of Chile’s fruit-growing sector in the first decades of the... more This article analyzes the development of Chile’s fruit-growing sector in the first decades of the twentieth century, and explains why it did not become the competitive export sector that Chilean growers and agrarian experts envisioned as a “South American California.” The article uses newly-found sources, including reports on individual orchards in agricultural journals, market studies by trade experts, and theses from the Instituto Agronómico. First, the article provides an overview of the grower community and sketches out the large and diverse Chilean fruit belt, also tracing the expansion of fruit production until 1935. It then examines farming practices, illustrating to what extent growers had advanced, or failed, in creating a modern fruit industry. Finally, the paper discusses critical issues that Chilean growers faced as newcomers in the domestic and international fruit markets. The article concludes that Chilean growers–who for the most part were not large landowners–operated in a “peripheral” Mediterranean agriculture, both geographically and in terms of economic development. Far away from the large international markets, they needed a complex infrastructure to grow and export high-quality fruits. Yet, lack of capital prevented growers from developing specialized orchards, while the country’s general low level of economic development meant that the fruit sector had limited availability of scientific horticultural knowledge, appropriate packing methods, and transportation for fresh fruit.
KEY WORDS: Fruit Growing, Chile, Agriculture, Mediterranean Agricultures, Fruit Market.
JEL CODES: N16, N56, O13
This article assesses the state of the agrarian sector and the composition of the Chilean agraria... more This article assesses the state of the agrarian sector and the composition of the Chilean agrarian elite during the first half of the nineteenth century, a rather unexplored period in Chile’s agrarian historiography. We have used several untapped sources such as the Catastro Agrícola and El Agricultor. From the former we have built and processed a half a million records database. From the former we have built and processed a database consisting of half a million records from the first three agricultural censuses of 1832, 1838 and 1852. We have explained why the agricultural sector was so backwards in Chile, while also established a very unequal distribution of both land tenure and agricultural income. Finally, our results show a great persistence within the composition of the agrarian elites between late colonial times and the first decades of republican Chile, as well as a significant correlation between the large landowners with highest agricultural income and the political elite.
This article assesses both agricultural income distribution and land distribution in Chiloé durin... more This article assesses both agricultural income distribution and land distribution in Chiloé during the 1830s-1850s, comparing both variables with the rest of the Chilean provinces at that time, in a rather unexplored period in Chile’s agrarian historiography. We have used several untapped sources such as the Catastro (agricultural census). From this source, we have built and processed an over half a million records database for the first four agricultural censuses of 1832, 1838 and 1852. Our results show a very egalitarian distribution of both agricultural income and land in Chiloé c.1830-1855, an exceptionality within Chile. This uniqueness of Chiloé is mainly explained by policies applied from late colonial times, in particular the granting of land to creole and indigenous people, as well as by a process of land partition soon after independence, being both processes unique to Chile.
Papers by Claudio Robles
Historia Agraria Revista de agricultura e historia rural, 2022
This paper analyzes the role of the Caja de Crédito Agrario (CCA) in the development of the agric... more This paper analyzes the role of the Caja de Crédito Agrario (CCA) in the development of the agricultural credit market in post-depression Chile. Employing its official annual reports, reports from the Superintendency of Banks, and Chile’s Statistical Yearbooks, we constructed the first series of CCA’s credit operations, and established trends in the number, the average amount, and the social, geographic, and specific economic activity distribution of all loans. From 1927 to 1952, CCA loans represented 11.5% of all commercial bank loans, and in the latter year the CCA lent more money to agriculture than any other bank. The CCA became Chile’s largest agricultural bank, right before being merged with other institutions to create the State Bank of Chile. The CCA’s credit was decentralized: its operations evolved towards a fairly balanced distribution of loans among Chile’s main agricultural provinces. This was a micro-credit institution that allocated the vast majority of its loans to s...
Books by Claudio Robles
El tomo Problemas Eeconómicos examina una serie de problemas fundamentales en la trayectoria de l... more El tomo Problemas Eeconómicos examina una serie de problemas fundamentales
en la trayectoria de la economía chilena a la luz de su relación con la
historia política del país, desde la independencia hasta nuestros días. En ese
contexto, busca poner de manifiesto la necesidad de considerar los vínculos
y mutuas determinaciones entre política y economía en el desarrollo económico
nacional y sus conflictos más gravitantes. Influyentes analistas de otras
épocas hicieron evidente la centralidad de esos nexos, convirtiéndolos en
temas ineludibles para el debate público y académico. Sus reflexiones sobre
nuestra “inferioridad económica”, las brechas entre “ricos y pobres”, la ubicuidad
de la “miseria” o las consecuencias del “desarrollo frustrado” fueron
claves para el reconocimiento de problemáticas que operaban como condicionantes
estructurales del conflicto político. Este tomo recupera esas preocupaciones
analíticas y las sitúa como referencia para indagar en las
interconexiones entre política y economía desde una perspectiva centrada en
“problemas”, a la manera de los “grandes problemas nacionales” que Andrés
Molina Enríquez identificara para México a inicios del siglo XX, y en esa
línea ofrece interpretaciones de largo plazo cuyo punto de partida es el fin
del dominio español en el continente. Ello explica el título de este tomo y el
marco cronológico común de los capítulos que lo componen.
Las memorias que se presentan en este libro son el resultado de una serie de entrevistas a Jacque... more Las memorias que se presentan en este libro son el resultado de una serie de entrevistas a Jacques Chonchol realizadas en 2013 y 2014, cuyas transcripciones editadas él pudo revisar, haciendo todas las correcciones y modificaciones que estimó pertinentes. Así, aunque no ha sido escrito directamente por su protagonista, este libro es un testimonio personal de su intensa y, en muchos sentidos, extraordinaria trayectoria por sus propios “tiempos interesantes”, los que se extienden desde comienzos de la década de 1930 hasta el presente. Esa trayectoria es, como se indica en el título, la de un cristiano revolucionario en la política chilena del siglo XX, en la cual su experiencia más relevante fue, desde luego, su participación decisiva en la formulación y la implementación de la Reforma Agraria. En efecto, uno de los componentes centrales de este libro es la memoria de Chonchol sobre ese proceso, respecto del cual nos ofrece una serie de argumentos que permiten comprender, desde la perspectiva de su principal impulsor y responsable, una de las experiencias de transformación social más profundas en la sociedad chilena y, a la vez, uno de los conflictos fundamentales de la política nacional en el siglo XX.
L a Biblioteca Fundamentos de la Construcción de Chile reúne las obras de científicos, técnicos, ... more L a Biblioteca Fundamentos de la Construcción de Chile reúne las obras de científicos, técnicos, profesionales e intelectuales que con sus trabajos imaginaron, crearon y mostraron Chile, llamaron la atención sobre el valor de alguna región o recurso natural, analizaron un problema socioeconómico, político o cultural, o plantearon soluciones para los desafíos que ha debido enfrentar el país a lo largo de su historia. Se trata de una iniciativa destinada a promover la cultura científica y tecnológica, la educación multidisciplinaria y la formación de la ciudadanía, todos requisitos básicos para el desarrollo económico y social.
Book Reviews by Claudio Robles
Roy Hora Buenos Aires, Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 2009, 216 páginas, ISBN 978-987-629-068-5 Por me... more Roy Hora Buenos Aires, Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 2009, 216 páginas, ISBN 978-987-629-068-5 Por medio de un estudio de historia institucional, el autor examina la formación, el programa "ruralista" y la participación política de la Liga Agraria (fundada en 1892), con el propósito de explicar "los principales núcleos de sentido" desde los cuales los grandes estancieros de la pampa "pensaron la Argentina durante el período en el que su poder e influencia se encontraban en su punto más alto" (pp. 15-16). Desde esa perspectiva, el trabajo de Roy Hora pretende abordar en forma sistemática el análisis de una dimensión relevante de la expansión agroexportadora que tuvo lugar entre las presidencias de Roca e Yrigoyen, como es la relación entre el "ruralismo político" y los "dos grandes procesos políticos" verificados en ese período, es decir, "la constitución del estado central y de una clase política profesional y, más tarde, la incorporación de las mayorías a la vida pública" (p. 16).
Hahr-hispanic American Historical Review, 2010
Historia Agraria Revista de agricultura e historia rural
This article examines the development of Chilean agrarian historiography in the last four decades... more This article examines the development of Chilean agrarian historiography in the last four decades, by means of an introductory overview organized as a chronological reconstruction. It selectively focuses on relevant authors and works, the problems and questions they addressed, their main arguments and contributions, as well as their flaws and limitations. In doing so, the article constructs debates that never took place, because development of this field has been limited by the scarcity of specialized works, the different contexts in which they were produced, and the lack of institutional spaces for systematic debate. Agrarian historiography has only recently become a distinctive discipline in Chile and is therefore an incipient field. In the last fifteen years, a new revisionist agrarian historiography has begun to revitalize the study of Chilean rural history through critical dialogue with foundational interpretations from the 1970s, leaving behind the conventional reiterations of...
Journal of Agrarian Change, 2018
This article examines the political conflict in rural society during the Popular Unity Government... more This article examines the political conflict in rural society during the Popular Unity Government (1970–73) by focusing on the mobilization of forestry workers in Panguipulli, a district in southern Chile. Adopting land invasions as their main strategy in the struggle for land and power, Panguipulli workers experienced a radical politicization by aligning themselves with the Peasant Revolutionary Movement, the “peasant front” of the Revolutionary Left Movement. Because of its relation with this emerging “new left,” rural mobilization was a significant expression of the “revolution from below”, which challenged the Popular Unity's “Chilean road to socialism.” Moreover, because rural mobilization also took place in other areas throughout Chile where the Revolutionary Left Movement was influential, it gave rise to a grassroots project for radicalizing the government's agrarian reform. As a result, the rural “revolution from below” strongly influenced the content and trajectory of political conflict under the Popular Unity Government.
Using a variety of new sources directly pertaining to different types of rural estate, and contra... more Using a variety of new sources directly pertaining to different types of rural estate, and contrary to interpretations of rural Chile as a traditional society unaffected by economic modernisation, this article analyses the transition of the hacienda system in central Chile towards agrarian capitalism during the period of export-led growth from the 1860s to 1930. It argues that the expansion of the ‘landowner enterprise’, along with developments in mechanisation and irrigation, resulted in the marginalisation of the precarious ‘peasant enterprises’ operated by tenants and the gradual proletarianisation of the agricultural workforce. The development of agrarian capitalism transformed the collective action of rural workers, which assumed modern forms such as strikes and unionisation, and thus became significant in national politics. The first wave of rural conflicts, which took place in the early 1920s, can therefore be understood as the response of the emerging rural working class to the agrarian expansion that Chile experienced as part of the process of capitalist modernisation.
Key Words: Chile; agrarian capitalism; hacienda system; rural workers; inquilinos; Arturo Alessandri; strikes; FOCh
Through a study of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura (SNA)'s role in the economic policy debat... more Through a study of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura (SNA)'s role in the economic policy debate over the 1889 and 1897 tariff reforms, as well as of its participation in the agricultural equipment business until the beginning of the 1920s, this article demonstrates that fostering technological innovation, and mechanization in particular, was a key component of the strategy this entrepreneurial association adopted in the political economy of the period from José Manuel Balmaceda's government to Arturo Alessandri's first administration. The paper establishes also that the dominance large foreign importing companies gained in the capital goods market, led to a restricted supply of agricultural machinery, which was an obstacle to the further diffusion of mechanization and limited agriculturists' investments.
Keywords: SNA; agriculture; economic policy; mechanization; SFF; industry.
Through the analysis of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura’s role in the debate on tariff refor... more Through the analysis of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura’s role in the debate on tariff reforms, this article examines economic policy as the result of the conflicts of interests between the state and entrepreneurial sectors in mid-nineteenth century Chile. This approach shows that in the oligarchic public sphere those sectors used economic
doctrines –proteccionism and free trade– as legitimazing discourses for their demands. Such was the case with the agrarian interests, which, despite their adherence to
the free trade paradigm, in this period employed protectionist arguments to substantiate their demand for a regime of tax exemption for agricultural machinery imports, and to
request that economic policy be an instrument to foster national industry
This article analyzes the development of Chile’s fruit-growing sector in the first decades of the... more This article analyzes the development of Chile’s fruit-growing sector in the first decades of the twentieth century, and explains why it did not become the competitive export sector that Chilean growers and agrarian experts envisioned as a “South American California.” The article uses newly-found sources, including reports on individual orchards in agricultural journals, market studies by trade experts, and theses from the Instituto Agronómico. First, the article provides an overview of the grower community and sketches out the large and diverse Chilean fruit belt, also tracing the expansion of fruit production until 1935. It then examines farming practices, illustrating to what extent growers had advanced, or failed, in creating a modern fruit industry. Finally, the paper discusses critical issues that Chilean growers faced as newcomers in the domestic and international fruit markets. The article concludes that Chilean growers–who for the most part were not large landowners–operated in a “peripheral” Mediterranean agriculture, both geographically and in terms of economic development. Far away from the large international markets, they needed a complex infrastructure to grow and export high-quality fruits. Yet, lack of capital prevented growers from developing specialized orchards, while the country’s general low level of economic development meant that the fruit sector had limited availability of scientific horticultural knowledge, appropriate packing methods, and transportation for fresh fruit.
KEY WORDS: Fruit Growing, Chile, Agriculture, Mediterranean Agricultures, Fruit Market.
JEL CODES: N16, N56, O13
This article assesses the state of the agrarian sector and the composition of the Chilean agraria... more This article assesses the state of the agrarian sector and the composition of the Chilean agrarian elite during the first half of the nineteenth century, a rather unexplored period in Chile’s agrarian historiography. We have used several untapped sources such as the Catastro Agrícola and El Agricultor. From the former we have built and processed a half a million records database. From the former we have built and processed a database consisting of half a million records from the first three agricultural censuses of 1832, 1838 and 1852. We have explained why the agricultural sector was so backwards in Chile, while also established a very unequal distribution of both land tenure and agricultural income. Finally, our results show a great persistence within the composition of the agrarian elites between late colonial times and the first decades of republican Chile, as well as a significant correlation between the large landowners with highest agricultural income and the political elite.
This article assesses both agricultural income distribution and land distribution in Chiloé durin... more This article assesses both agricultural income distribution and land distribution in Chiloé during the 1830s-1850s, comparing both variables with the rest of the Chilean provinces at that time, in a rather unexplored period in Chile’s agrarian historiography. We have used several untapped sources such as the Catastro (agricultural census). From this source, we have built and processed an over half a million records database for the first four agricultural censuses of 1832, 1838 and 1852. Our results show a very egalitarian distribution of both agricultural income and land in Chiloé c.1830-1855, an exceptionality within Chile. This uniqueness of Chiloé is mainly explained by policies applied from late colonial times, in particular the granting of land to creole and indigenous people, as well as by a process of land partition soon after independence, being both processes unique to Chile.
Historia Agraria Revista de agricultura e historia rural, 2022
This paper analyzes the role of the Caja de Crédito Agrario (CCA) in the development of the agric... more This paper analyzes the role of the Caja de Crédito Agrario (CCA) in the development of the agricultural credit market in post-depression Chile. Employing its official annual reports, reports from the Superintendency of Banks, and Chile’s Statistical Yearbooks, we constructed the first series of CCA’s credit operations, and established trends in the number, the average amount, and the social, geographic, and specific economic activity distribution of all loans. From 1927 to 1952, CCA loans represented 11.5% of all commercial bank loans, and in the latter year the CCA lent more money to agriculture than any other bank. The CCA became Chile’s largest agricultural bank, right before being merged with other institutions to create the State Bank of Chile. The CCA’s credit was decentralized: its operations evolved towards a fairly balanced distribution of loans among Chile’s main agricultural provinces. This was a micro-credit institution that allocated the vast majority of its loans to s...
El tomo Problemas Eeconómicos examina una serie de problemas fundamentales en la trayectoria de l... more El tomo Problemas Eeconómicos examina una serie de problemas fundamentales
en la trayectoria de la economía chilena a la luz de su relación con la
historia política del país, desde la independencia hasta nuestros días. En ese
contexto, busca poner de manifiesto la necesidad de considerar los vínculos
y mutuas determinaciones entre política y economía en el desarrollo económico
nacional y sus conflictos más gravitantes. Influyentes analistas de otras
épocas hicieron evidente la centralidad de esos nexos, convirtiéndolos en
temas ineludibles para el debate público y académico. Sus reflexiones sobre
nuestra “inferioridad económica”, las brechas entre “ricos y pobres”, la ubicuidad
de la “miseria” o las consecuencias del “desarrollo frustrado” fueron
claves para el reconocimiento de problemáticas que operaban como condicionantes
estructurales del conflicto político. Este tomo recupera esas preocupaciones
analíticas y las sitúa como referencia para indagar en las
interconexiones entre política y economía desde una perspectiva centrada en
“problemas”, a la manera de los “grandes problemas nacionales” que Andrés
Molina Enríquez identificara para México a inicios del siglo XX, y en esa
línea ofrece interpretaciones de largo plazo cuyo punto de partida es el fin
del dominio español en el continente. Ello explica el título de este tomo y el
marco cronológico común de los capítulos que lo componen.
Las memorias que se presentan en este libro son el resultado de una serie de entrevistas a Jacque... more Las memorias que se presentan en este libro son el resultado de una serie de entrevistas a Jacques Chonchol realizadas en 2013 y 2014, cuyas transcripciones editadas él pudo revisar, haciendo todas las correcciones y modificaciones que estimó pertinentes. Así, aunque no ha sido escrito directamente por su protagonista, este libro es un testimonio personal de su intensa y, en muchos sentidos, extraordinaria trayectoria por sus propios “tiempos interesantes”, los que se extienden desde comienzos de la década de 1930 hasta el presente. Esa trayectoria es, como se indica en el título, la de un cristiano revolucionario en la política chilena del siglo XX, en la cual su experiencia más relevante fue, desde luego, su participación decisiva en la formulación y la implementación de la Reforma Agraria. En efecto, uno de los componentes centrales de este libro es la memoria de Chonchol sobre ese proceso, respecto del cual nos ofrece una serie de argumentos que permiten comprender, desde la perspectiva de su principal impulsor y responsable, una de las experiencias de transformación social más profundas en la sociedad chilena y, a la vez, uno de los conflictos fundamentales de la política nacional en el siglo XX.
L a Biblioteca Fundamentos de la Construcción de Chile reúne las obras de científicos, técnicos, ... more L a Biblioteca Fundamentos de la Construcción de Chile reúne las obras de científicos, técnicos, profesionales e intelectuales que con sus trabajos imaginaron, crearon y mostraron Chile, llamaron la atención sobre el valor de alguna región o recurso natural, analizaron un problema socioeconómico, político o cultural, o plantearon soluciones para los desafíos que ha debido enfrentar el país a lo largo de su historia. Se trata de una iniciativa destinada a promover la cultura científica y tecnológica, la educación multidisciplinaria y la formación de la ciudadanía, todos requisitos básicos para el desarrollo económico y social.
Roy Hora Buenos Aires, Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 2009, 216 páginas, ISBN 978-987-629-068-5 Por me... more Roy Hora Buenos Aires, Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 2009, 216 páginas, ISBN 978-987-629-068-5 Por medio de un estudio de historia institucional, el autor examina la formación, el programa "ruralista" y la participación política de la Liga Agraria (fundada en 1892), con el propósito de explicar "los principales núcleos de sentido" desde los cuales los grandes estancieros de la pampa "pensaron la Argentina durante el período en el que su poder e influencia se encontraban en su punto más alto" (pp. 15-16). Desde esa perspectiva, el trabajo de Roy Hora pretende abordar en forma sistemática el análisis de una dimensión relevante de la expansión agroexportadora que tuvo lugar entre las presidencias de Roca e Yrigoyen, como es la relación entre el "ruralismo político" y los "dos grandes procesos políticos" verificados en ese período, es decir, "la constitución del estado central y de una clase política profesional y, más tarde, la incorporación de las mayorías a la vida pública" (p. 16).
Hahr-hispanic American Historical Review, 2010
CFP: Journal Historia Agraria de América Latina (ISSN 2452-5162) Submis... more CFP: Journal Historia Agraria de América Latina (ISSN 2452-5162)
Submission deadline: 25 March 2024
http://www.haal.cl/index.php/haal/instruccionesenvio
Indexed in SCOPUS
Historia Agraria de América Latina (www.haal.cl) announces an open topics call for articles and book reviews. HAAL is an academic, peer-reviewed journal published by the Centro de Estudios de Historia de América Latina (CEHAL), an autonomous research center established in Santiago de Chile in 2017. HAAL aims to promote and disseminate research and interdisciplinary debate on the history of the rural societies of Latin America and the Caribbean. The journal prioritizes the publication of research that analyzes new topics and problems, makes theoretical and methodological contributions, and develops new interpretations. Manuscripts must be original and not in the process of being evaluated at another journal. HAAL also accepts manuscripts from economics, anthropology, political science, sociology and other disciplines that examine issues of rural society from a historical perspective. HAAL is published bi-annually (April and November) and is open access through the website: www.haal.cl
Objetivo/Contexto: Este artículo examina el papel del emergente sector de empresas privadas de av... more Objetivo/Contexto: Este artículo examina el papel del emergente sector de empresas privadas de aviación proveedoras de servicios de fumigación y transporte de carga en el sector agropecuario en Chile, durante las décadas posteriores a la Segunda Guerra Mundial y hasta 1973, periodo en el que la política estatal de fomento a la industrialización dificultó la inversión en innovaciones tecnológicas en la agricultura. Metodología: Desde una perspectiva centrada en la formación y operación de las empresas, y empleando documentación de la Junta de Aeronáutica Civil (jac), prensa y boletines técnicos, se analizan la expansión y posterior contracción del sector de compañías aéreas privadas, así como los principales resultados y problemas de su operación en un mercado inicialmente lucrativo y poco regulado. Originalidad: A diferencia de la lite- ratura sobre aviación comercial en América Latina, centrada en el estudio de aerolíneas para el transporte de pasajeros, este artículo examina el papel de la aviación comercial en el desarrollo económico, en especial en el sector agropecuario, y en términos de su aporte a la modernización agrícola. Conclusiones: Pese a dificultades legales y operativas iniciales, como un escaso capital y material de vuelo, las compañías crecieron rápidamente, desarrollaron una capacidad de fumigación muy superior a la demanda y diversificaron su actividad de trans- porte de carga, tanto en el territorio nacional como hacia otros países. De esta manera, las empresas privadas de aviación comercial contribuyeron significativamente a la modernización agrícola en Chile, introduciendo y difundiendo rápidamente una de las innovaciones tecnológicas más importantes en ese periodo a nivel mundial, como fue la fumigación aérea a gran escala de los principales cultivos comerciales.
Context/Objective: This article examines the role that an emerging sector of private commercial aviation firms played in the agricultural industry by providing aerial fumigation and cargo services in Chile from the post-WWII to 1973. Methodology: From a perspective centered on the formation and opera- tion of individual firms, and using documentation from the Junta de Aeronáutica Civil (jac), newspapers, and technical bulletins, we analyze the expansion and then the contraction of this sector of private avia- tion firms and the results and problems of their operation in an initially lucrative and scarcely regulated market. Originality: Unlike most of the literature on the history of commercial aviation in Latin America, which focuses on the study of passenger airlines, this article examines commercial aviation’s role in econo- mic development, specifically in the agricultural sector and its contribution to agricultural modernization. Conclusions: Despite initial legal and operational problems, like scarcity of capital and equipment, the companies proliferated rapidly, developed a fumigation capacity well over the demand level, and diver- sified their cargo activity both in the national territory and towards other countries. Thus, in a period in which agriculture’s lower growth and subordination to the industrialization-promoting state policy made it difficult to invest in technological innovations, private aviation firms made a significant contribution to agricultural modernization in Chile. They were the agents that carried out the rapid introduction and diffu- sion of one of the most important technological innovations worldwide: large-scale aerial fumigation of the principal commercial crops.
Objetivo/Contexto: neste artigo, é examinado o papel do emergente setor de empresas par- ticulares de aviação fornecedoras de serviços de fumigação e transporte de carga no setor agropecuário no Chile, durante as décadas posteriores à Segunda Guerra Mundial e até 1973, período em que a política estatal de fomento à industrialização dificultou o investimento em inovações tecnológicas na agricultura. Metodologia: sob uma perspectiva focada na formação e operação das empresas e utilizando documen- tação do Conselho da Aeronáutica Civil, imprensa e boletins técnicos, são analisados a expansão e posterior contratação do setor de companhias aéreas privadas, bem como os principais resultados e problemas de sua operação num mercado inicialmente lucrativo e pouco regulamentado. Originalidade: à diferença da literatura sobre aviação comercial na América Latina, centralizada no estudo de companhias aéreas para o transporte de passageiros, neste artigo, é analisado o papel da aviação comercial no desenvolvimento econô- mico, em especial no setor agropecuário e em termos de sua contribuição para a modernização agrícola. Conclusões: embora as dificuldades legais e operacionais iniciais, como um escasso capital e material de voo, as companhias cresceram rapidamente, desenvolveram uma capacidade de fumigação muito superior à demanda e diversificaram sua atividade de transporte de carga, tanto no território nacional quanto para outros países. Dessa maneira, as empresas privadas de aviação comercial contribuíram significativamente para a modernização agrícola no Chile, introduzindo e difundindo rapidamente uma das inovações tecnoló- gicas mais importantes nesse período no âmbito mundial, como foi a fumigação aérea em grande escala dos principais cultivos comerciais.