Joaquín Fermandois, Jimena Bustos, and María José Schneuer offer a compelling account of the ways in which politicians understood and discussed the role of the large- scale and foreign- owned copper industry in Chile from the end of World War II to 2008. In analyzing what they call the “copper debates,” the authors demonstrate that most Chilean politicians, despite their deep ideological differences, strongly believed that copper played a central role in the national economy and in their country’s efforts to industrialize and develop. According to the authors, the country’s inability to develop and use the wealth that the copper industry produced created a permanent feeling that foreign copper companies were taking away Chile’s only chance at progress. This feeling inspired many political projects that looked to increase taxation and control over foreign capital. For the authors, however, these political efforts were often irrational and inspired by populism, based on...

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