ABSTRACT
This chapter examines why many Latin American countries whose economic development until the Second World War had been shaped overwhelmingly by agriculture and mining embarked on strategies that, instead, made industrialisation a top priority. It looks at the main economic argument that justified this policy shift, called ‘structuralism’, and the profound implications this would have for the state and the character of politics in Latin America. The strategies proposed and adopted by economists to exploit a country’s resources are of great importance to the ways in which social and political systems evolve. They determine who will be the main winners in a process of economic development – and who will be the losers. In turn, they shape the nature of the state and the behaviour of the political actors who seek to influence its policymaking role.
