Technocrats and politicians in an authoritarian regime. The 'ODEPLAN Boys' and the 'Gremialists' in Pinochet's Chile

This article analyses the role of the economic team known as the 'Chicago Boys' and of the main political faction in Pinochet's Chile, the 'Gremialists', founded by Jaime Guzman in the Catholic University in 1966. These two sectors of the elite had a common professional and political career and were the principal civilian groups of the dictatorship who developed a long-term political strategy that deeply influenced both the economic and political orientation of the military regime. They shared a long-term power strategy, that was basically defined by the 'Gremialists'. The article focuses on the role played by ODEPLAN in shaping the economic reforms. It demonstrates that the coherence of the economic model inherent in the implementation of its policies is to be found in the integration of the policies with a political project, articulated by the 'Gremialists'.