ABSTRACT
The Chilean military regime seems to have fully manifested both the reactive and foundational dimensions typical of such regimes, even though the foundational dimension began to wane in 1981. The virtually unrestricted reign of repression is significant because it conditioned major elements of the political leadership, where a parallel existed between the process of concentrating and centralizing the repressive apparatus and that of consolidating the personalized leadership of Augusto Pinochet within the armed forces. The situation was compounded by the unreadiness of the capitalist class to propose alternative development projects. The greatest opacity seems to have existed within the armed forces, where certain reservations were manifested about policies that would reduce the role of the state or denationalize public enterprises. Market principles would be enthroned in various social spheres, the regulative and redistributive role of the state would be reduced and social demands would be fragmented and segmented in order to keep them from spreading.
