ABSTRACT
Latin America finally entered the world economy during the 19th century. During this belle epoque, it laid the ground for its structure of wealth. In its essence, this structure endures up to date. However, it was a period in which unequal specialization in extractivism became its sine qua non. Elite rule was finally settled. Latin America became integrated into the world economy by exporting nature. This critical juncture impacted economic, political, and social structures. The chapter has two objectives: first, it empirically elaborates on the continuity and change of wealth concentration and inequality in Latin America since the beginning of modern globalization. It focuses on the founding period in which the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few became a predominant issue in Latin America. The chapter then distinguishes two development paths through which the concentration of wealth became channeled: authoritarian reformism and oligarchic modernization. These two paths continued during the recent experiences with neo-extractivism and therefore need to be understood as a deep structure. The second objective of the chapter is theory-oriented: the chapter builds on rent theory to compare these development paths and point to both the causes for this depth structure and its drivers of change. It argues that the causes for the development and mechanisms of change of the current structure of elite rule are found to be in processes of unequal specialization that link world economy forces with domestic political struggles.
