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In most Latin American countries, key officials and political figures have been involved in big corruption scandals in the last decade, leading to a rigorous academic debate on the possible socio-economic, political and cultural factors responsible forcorrupt practices across the region. This book takes a different approach by focusing on Chile, which shows the lowest levels of corruption in the region. Instead ofanalysing notoriously bad cases in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, this book explores the factors which have led to a relatively high degree of public probity among power holders in Chile. Public Probity and Corruption in Chilepresents a long-term historical analysis demonstrating that public probity in Chile has its roots in the colonial period, and that public and state responses have historically shown a low level of tolerance for public cases of corruption. In particular, the authorhighlights the role played by relative poverty and lack of resources, geographical remoteness, the impact of the Arauco War against the Mapuche people, the militarisation of both government and public administration, the extreme oligarchic nature of the Chilean aristocracy, the early consolidation of state institutions and the rule of law, high levels of political stability and the role played by patriotism. Studying an example of better practice in detail in this way provides valuable insightsinto the factors and actors which can help to prevent or to revert the phenomenon of public corruption in the region more generally. As such, this book will be of interest to researchers of corruption and public probity both in Chile and further afield.

"Explores the role played by technocrats in the political and institutional evolution of Chile since the late nineteeth century until today, with emphasis on the period from 1938-1973 as well as the period following democratic restoration in 1990"--Provided by publisher

Chile has a long record of public probity, representing an exception in Latin America. It goes back to the late colonial period when the country was ruled by relatively efficient and honest governors. During the nineteenth century, Chile built up a solid state and a stable political system, based on the rule of law. Chileans have been ever since aware of the exceptionality of their country in terms of the strength of their political institutions and the scrupulousness of their rulers. This article shows the historical evolution of public probity in Chile, emphasizing the ways several governments have dealt with the corruption issue since democratic restoration in 1990.

This article explores the ways in which Presidents Lagos and Bachelet have dealt with the technocratic phenomenon within their respective governments. For this purpose, special attention is given to the political styles characterizing both presidents and the manner in which these styles have facilitated or obstructed the functioning of technocratic groups within governmental circles. As it is argued, the attitude adopted by both leaders vis-à-vis the presence of technocratic groups within their governments is largely conditioned by the type of relation established between the presidents and the supporting political parties. In addition to this, a sordid clash between politicians and technocrats for power and influence can be observed. President Lagos always distrusted the technocracy. He only made strategic use of it in order to lehis cgitimate onduction of the country's economy towards entrepreneurial groups and the international financial community. On the other hand, President Bachelet will be forced to seek support from the 'Expansiva' technocrats due to her problematic relation vis-à-vis the leaders of the Concertación's political parties. ; Este artículo explora de qué manera Ricardo Lagos y Michelle Bachelet han abordado el tema de la tecnocracia durante sus respectivos gobiernos. Para ello se presta especial atención a los estilos políticos utilizados por ambos presidentes y como éstos facilitan o obstaculizan el accionar tecnócratico al interior de sus administraciones. Se argumenta que la posición que ambos líderes adoptan ante los estamentos tecnocráticos al interior de sus gobiernos se encuentra fuertemente condicionada por el tipo de relación que estos presidentes establecen con las dirigencias de los partidos políticos que participan en la coalición gubernamental. Además, se subraya la existencia de una lucha sórdida entre políticos tradicionales y tecnócratas por el poder político y la influencia sobre la figura del presidente al interior de ambas administraciones. El Presidente Lagos siempre ...

This article assesses the importance played by technocrats in the Chilean political process since the early decades of the twentieth century until today. Despite their self-proclaimed non-political orientation several technocratic groups have become key actors in the attempts to legitimate diverse political projects during the period under consideration. Based on the existing debate on the technocratic phenomenon a series of special features of the Chilean case are emphasized, such as: the emergency of a technocratic estate prior to the industrialization process; the strong ties existing between the middle classes & the technocratic ideology &; the moderating role played by the state technocracy to avoid direct clashes among competing political & social forces in the country. References. Adapted from the source document.