Why Chileans dislike business leaders

LAST year ended triumphantly for Andrónico Luksic, head of Chile’s richest family. On December 23rd he won a slander suit against a politician who had called him a “criminal” and “a son of a whore”. But his sense of vindication was clouded by pain. Four days earlier, as he left the courthouse, a mob, angry about a hydroelectric project in which he had invested, threw stones at him. One struck him on the head; police whisked him away.

Plutocrats are unpopular in lots of places, but Chileans seem to regard theirs with particular suspicion. MORI, a polling firm, asked Chileans in 2015 to choose which among five power centres had the most clout: 59% chose businessmen over the government, the presidency, congress and the media. Asked by Latinobarómetro, another pollster, if they had any confidence in private enterprise, just 32% said yes, the second-lowest rate among 18 countries. Chileans often say that seven families “own” the country. Together, their wealth is the equivalent of 17% of GDP. The Luksics alone are worth $14bn, equivalent to about 6% of GDP, according to Forbes.