Chilean land reform

The Chilean land reform (Spanish: Reforma agraria chilena) was a process of land ownership restructuring that occurred from 1962 to 1973 in different phases. For much of the 20th century agriculture was one of the most backward sectors of Chilean economy. The land reform was initially supported by Chilean right, centre and left political parties plus the Catholic Church and the United States. After the 1973 Chilean coup d'état the ruling right-wing dictatorship initiated a counter-reform that substantially reverted the reform and directed Chilean agriculture into a "neoliberal" model.

Pre-reform developments

Chilean intellectuals like Camilo Vial (1804-1882) had placed no particular emphasis on agriculture for the development of Chile while others like Francisco Encina (1874-1965) considered Chilean agriculture irrelevant for economic and social development. Encina considered that Chile was ready for industrialization.

Conditions in for early 20th century rural workers was harsh with Tancredo Pinochet denouncing the poor conditions of workers in the hacienda of president Juan Luis Sanfuentes during his presidency (1915-1920). Within a dual sector economic model the 20th century Chilean hacienda has been characterized as a prime example of a primitive and rural component. McBride, a Briton who visited Chile in the 1930s, is reported to have been "astounded" to see haciendas with "agricultural methods that reminds of ancient Egypt, Greece or Palestine."

Demands for a land reform appeared in Chile in the early 20th century and while neglected by the Radical governments (1938–1952) that favoured urban industrialization, in the early 1960s land reform ideas in Chile received support from both the Catholic Church and, through the Alliance for Progress, from the United States. Among Chilean politicians Eduardo Frei Montalva expressed his view in 1958 that both minifundia and latifundia were detrimental for Chilean agriculture.