Abstract

VIERA ALVAREZ, CHRISTIAN  and  GARCIA-CAMPO ALMENDROS, GONZALO. The Long Road to Democracy: Authoritarian Neoliberalism in the Chilean Economic Constitution. Rev. Derecho Estado [online]. 2024, n.58, pp.389-422.  Epub Feb 17, 2024. ISSN 0122-9893.  https://doi.org/10.18601/01229893.n58.14.

The article argues that the Chilean Economic Constitution can be understood as an "authoritarian neoliberal" project. To do this, it begins by elucidating, through a genealogical delineation, the scope of this concept. It is asserted that, for a better understanding, one should turn to the concept of "authoritarian liberalism", coined by Heller to characterize the political regime of the Weimar Republic. Then, the article provides a description of the concept of the Economic Constitution, showing that over time it has moved away from its original meaning, whose core purpose was to exercise democratic control over the economy. Thirdly, the structure of the Chilean Economic Constitution is critically examined, arguing that it enshrines a neoliberal project, both through the constitutional recognition of its fundamental tenets and through a series of restrictions on democracy, thus endowing it with an authoritarian character. In fourth and final place, it is asserted that, in order to reclaim the original intent of the concept of the Economic Constitution, Chile must transition towards an institutional architecture in this realm that is social and democratic in nature. To conclude, some fundamental characteristics that it should possess to achieve this goal are offered.

Keywords : Autoritarian neoliberalism; Economic Constitution; Social and democratic Constitution.

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