Neoliberal transition in Latin America: examining the gap between theory and practice. The cases of Chile and Mexico

Abstract

The adoption of profound reforms in favour of free-trade around the globe became common practice, and turned neoliberalism into the most influential economic ideology of the last quarter of the 20th Century. This article examines the effects of the introduction of neoliberal reforms in the context of Latin America. Two cases were chosen for this purpose: the case of Chile and the case of Mexico. Both examples are very useful to understand the complexity involved within the neoliberal process in Latin America as well as to identify some of the main causes for its failure. The main conclusion is that neoliberalism will maintain its status as the main economic ideology in the world, despite its meagre developmental outcomes.