ABSTRACT
Since the mid-1980s, in the wake of the introduction of the free-market, export-promotion policies of a group of neoclassical economists often referred to as the 'Chicago boys', the Chilean economy has grown steadily at an average of 6 percent annually, reaching an East Asian pace of 10 percent in 1992. In 1989, Chile returned to democracy after the sixteen-year Pinochet military dictatorship. Chile is rich in mineral resources, and its agricultural resources should be sufficient to satisfy national consumption and permit substantial export of high-value fruits and vegetables. The Basque provinces, on the Bay of Biscay near the French border, have long been considered, along with Catalunya, the most progressive, prosperous, and democratic regions of Spain. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Chilean society was strained by resentment of Santiago in the provinces, disputes over the role of the Church, and the emergence of new wealth in the north.
