Chilean blue revolution: the rise of salmon aquaculture and the state

Abstract

In less than two decades, Chile moved from a nonexistent salmon aquaculture production to become a world leader. This research examines the role of state institutions in fostering a non-traditional export-led industry in Chile from 1969 to 2016. During this period, Chile experienced a forced transition towards a neoliberal economic model imposed by General Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship and maintained by subsequent democratic governments. The institutional framework set during the dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s shaped actors and processes related to salmon aquaculture and continue to structure the industry. The history of salmon aquaculture development in Chile is marked by a paradox in which the Chilean state, the same that advocates for a neoliberal economy with a minimum state presence, continues to support, promote, finance and define the salmon aquaculture industry direct and indirectly.