Diversity of Capitalisms in Latin America

390 Pages·2019·4.933 MB·English

by  Ilán Bizberg

ILÁN BIZBERG
DIVERSITY OF CAPITALISMS
IN LATIN AMERICA
Diversity of Capitalisms in Latin America
“Is there a unique mode of development in Latin America, or a great diversity,
each country being different from others? Between these two extreme scientific
positions, Ilán Bizberg explores another perspective, and builds and uses a typol-
ogy distinguishing various modes of development, i.e. various capitalisms.
An inspiring and innovative demonstration, based on a very solid knowledge
both of Latin America, and of economical and sociological theories, including
the French Regulation School.”
—Michel Wieviorka, Président of FMSH and Directeur d’études à l’EHESS
“This is a groundbreaking book in three aspects. Between the extremes of too
global and too narrow studies it analyses the trajectories of four different types
of capitalisms in Latin America. Second, it presents a rich body of empirical data
and historical perspective integrating a political economy with a sociological view
(accumulation regime, global connectedness, labor markets, political regime,
socio-political power groups and coalitions, labor regulation) always considering
long-term historical factors. Finally, it critically integrates carefully different theo-
retical concepts on comparative social science.
Although not explicitly building on the classic Latin-American theory of
dependence Bizberg presents a highly stimulating analysis that is worth to be
considered as a new landmark in the long tradition of theory-driven and empir-
ically grounded comparative studies. It should be on the syllabus of any Master
or Ph.D. course related to Latin-American studies and to comparative studies of
capitalisms.”
—Ludger Pries, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
“Latin America is a maze; Ilán Bizberg searches to make sense of it, using as
a tool the diversity of capitalisms, but he is wise enough to leave the solution
of the puzzle to the reader. Several are rentier countries exporting commodities;
most are outward-looking, liberal and deeply dependent countries; all are falling
behind, including Brazil, which searched to be a developmental and social excep-
tion but failed.”
—Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, Emeritus Professor of Getúlio Vargas Foundation
Ilán Bizberg
Diversity
of Capitalisms
in Latin America
Ilán Bizberg
El Colegio de México
Mexico City, Mexico
ISBN 978-3-319-95536-0 ISBN 978-3-319-95537-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95537-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018957444
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
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Para Leticia,
para Andrea,
para Iván,
por todo.
A
cknowledgements
I am extremely grateful to a number of people and institutions without
whom this book would have never seen the light. In the first place to the
very generous institution where I have been able to work with total lib-
erty and support for so many years: El Colegio de Mexico, and to all my
colleagues of the Center for International Studies. I would like to recog-
nize the CONACYT for its very generous financial support, under the
program SEP-Conacyt (project 220018), which has allowed me to travel
to most of the countries of Latin America that I analyze in this book,
as well as to a number of international conferences where I have been
able to present my ideas and get very useful feedback, and learn about
other countries outside the continent from other researchers. I want to
thank the Humboldt Foundation for the renewal of a research stay that
allowed me to spend three very profitable months at the Lateinamerika
Institut of the Freie Universität in Berlin. I am especially grateful to my
colleagues and friends of the research group we have formed in order
to study the diversity of capitalisms in Latin America: many of the ideas
that are here exposed are actually the result of our discussions and in no
way mine alone. In this respect, I want to thank Alberto Aziz, Graciela
Bensusán, Robert Boyer, Jaime Marques Pereira, Bruno Théret, Enrique
Valencia; all members of the research group. Robert Boyer was especially
generous to take the time to read the manuscript and write an excellent
preface.
I am also indebted to academics with whom either in Mexico or some
other country in Latin America, Europe and Asia, have contributed
vii
viii ACkNOWLEDGEMENTS
with ideas for this book: Carlos Alba, kaori Baba, Luiz Carlos Bresser-
Pereira, Renato Boschi, Taeko Hoshino, Barbara Fritz, Pascal Labazée
(deceased), Bruno Lautier(deceased), Yvon Le Bot, Geoffrey Pleyers,
Daniela Prates, Ludger Pries, Jean Rivelois, Hélène Rivière d’Arc,
Rubén Lo Vuolo, Isik Ozel, Pierre Salama, Brasilio Sallum, Merve
Sançak, Marie-France Shapira, Christian Suter, Alain Touraine, Hiroyashi
Uemura, Michel Wieviorka, among many others.
I also would like to acknowledge the research assistants that have
helped me out throughout these years in collecting the data and bibli-
ography for this book: Ana-Inés Fernández Ayala, Luis Alfonso Gómez
Arciniega, Daniela Medina, Adalberto Castañeda, Santiago Álvarez
Campero, Daniel Reyes Tinajero. A special mention goes for Daniel
Cerdas Sandí who assisted me in the last very busy and complicated
months in order to finish the book.
I am equally thankful to my students at El Colegio de México and
at Sciences Po, Poitiers, that reacted to my presentations in class with
questions and comments that have helped to configure a more coherent
work.
I would have not been able to write this book without the support of
my wonderful family, I dedicate it to them.
c
ontents
1 The Theoretical Perspective of This Book 1
1.1 Neo-Institutionalism 1
1.2 The Limits of Neo-Institutionalism 6
1.3 Toward an Actionalist-Structuralist Political Economy 16
References 24
2 Four Types of Capitalism in Latin America 27
2.1 Dimensions of the Analysis and Definitions 27
2.2 The Political Economy of the Four Types of Capitalism
in Latin America 39
2.2.1 The Mode of Accumulation 39
2.2.2 The International Insertion 41
2.2.3 The Intervention of the State 42
2.2.4 The Dominant Social Coalition 43
2.2.5 The Form of the State and the Type of Political
System 46
2.2.6 The Social Pact/The Wage Relation 47
References 49
3 The Accumulation Regime 53
3.1 The Productive Structure 54
3.2 Mode of Production 70
3.3 Mode of Consumption 76
References 85
ix
x CONTENTS
4 The Mode of Integration to the World Economy 89
4.1 Degree of Openness 92
4.2 The Defensive Actions 99
4.3 Proactive Measures 106
References 112
5 The Role of the State 115
5.1 Two Types of State Action: Agent of Liberalism
or Developmentalist State 119
5.2 The Ideology, the Discourse, Regarding the Role
of the State 122
5.3 Financial Strength of the State 130
5.4 State Ownership 136
5.5 Regulatory and Industrial Policies 141
References 152
6 The Dominant Social Coalition: Transformations
and Present Configuration 157
6.1 Entrepreneurs and Multinational Companies 161
6.2 From a Corporatist Redistributive Pact, to an
Oligarchic Alliance 167
6.3 From an Oligarchic Pact to a Compromise Between
the Popular Sectors and the Financial and Extractive
Rentier Sectors 173
6.4 The Imposition of a Liberal Rentier Pact 183
6.5 From a Rentier Liberal to a Redistributive Social Pact 196
References 205
7 State Structures and Political Systems 213
7.1 State Structure: Federalism, Centralism, and
Decentralization 214
7.2 The Federal States 214
7.3 Decentralization of Unitary States 217
7.4 The Political Regimes 224
7.5 Particracies: Chile and Mexico 227
7.6 Movementist and Socio-Corporatist Democracies 233
7.7 Empty Democracies: Clientelism and Delegation 245
7.8 Final Note 251
References 252
CONTENTS xi
8 The Social Contract: The Wage Relation 259
8.1 Wages 262
8.2 Social Protection Systems 265
8.3 Pensions 271
8.4 Health 277
8.5 Assistance 290
References 295
9 Conclusions: Performance and Frailties of the Latin
American Capitalisms 299
9.1 Performance 299
9.2 The Frailties of the Diverse Types of Capitalism 302
References 320
References 325
Index 357