The Political Dynamic of Redistribution in Unequal Democracies: The Center-Left Governments of Chile and Uruguay in Comparative Perspective

The redistributive reforms carried out by center-left governments in Chile and Uruguay in the 2000s affected the core interests of economic elites. Efforts to increase taxes on high-income sectors and reform the institutions that regulate the capital-labor relationship produced different results in the two countries. While Uruguay adopted significant reforms, reforms in Chile were marginal in 2000-2010 and moderate in 2014-2016. Their different trajectories are related to different configurations of the distribution of power resources between the elites and the social organizations that represent the interests of low-income sectors.