ABSTRACT
Chile’s experience of democracy is quite distinct from that of Argentina. In contrast to Argentina, the principal debates at the end of authoritarianism and into the democratic period were not as closely related to the economy. Since labour had been harshly repressed under authoritarianism and the economic blueprint of liberalisation had guided the structuring of social relations, the need to build an alliance with labour was not a factor in the Chilean experience. Instead, the major issues that dominated the politics of transition were those of civil-military relations and the nature of the transition process. In this sense there are some similarities with the challenges faced by the Alfonsín government.
