The Political Emergence of Arab-Chileans, 1952-1958

In: Journal of Inter-American Studies, Volume 4, Issue 4, p. 557-562

Abstract

In Enrique Bunster's satirical novel Un ángel para Chile, set in the year 2015, Turcos" hold sway in the Club de la Unión, traditionally the exclusive redoubt of Chile's upper class. In 2015, high and mighty Turcos place orders for wines carrying the names of present-day Arab-Chilean textile millionaires with waiters descended from presentday aristocratic wine-making families. Bunster's fanciful vision of future Chilean society takes what basis of credibility it has from the remarkable economic and political progress achieved by Arab-Chileans in recent years. This progress was accelerated during the 1952-1958 government of Carlos Ibáñez and became a focus for political controversy.