Analysis of the Role of Business Elites in the Central Andes

In November 2023, Jonas Wolff, John Crabtree, and Francisco Durand have pub­lished their co­authored monograph with the title “Business Power and the State in the Central Andes – Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru in Compa­rison“. In their historical-compa­rative analysis, the authors examine how business actors have influenced the three states since the middle of the 20th century. They discuss three eco­nomic periods: the indus­triali­zation, the neolibe­ralism and the post-neoli­beral phase. The comparison reveals simi­larities between the countries, but also differences – particu­larly in the balance of power between business elites and social move­ments: While business actors in Peru have consis­tently been able to main­tain a hegemony of power, social move­ments in Bolivia have been able to exert massive in­fluence. In Ecuador, the balance of power be­tween the two groups is more equal. The authors analyze the advan­tages of these different models, the reasons for their change, as well as the conse­quences for the states and the populations.

Reviews of the monograph from the academic community are very positive, with Maxwell A. Cameron (University of British Colombia) describing it as a “must read“ for those interested in the political economy of Latin America. The book is available via website of the University of Pittsburgh Press.