The invisibility of the Biobío Region: A look from outside

Abstract

The study of the economic performance of the regions of Chile is a very interesting topic addressed in the political and academic debate over the past years for several reasons. From the political stand, one of the theses is that the high centralism of the country has limited local decisions-making reducing the possibilities of homogeneous growth. From an economic perspective, moving towards a developing economy has brought about the discussion of the well-known differences in the economic and social structure of the regions (supported by the availability of increasing economic and social information about them). In this context, it is only relevant to make a comparative analysis at a national level of the economic performance of the Biobío Region, which for many years was known as the second most important region of Chile, and its present relevance for the State. Over the past few years, regional visibility has been the basis of a certain common rhetorical discourse that has been heard in a number of Chilean provinces, and which is adapted according to the particular characteristics of a given region, its distribution, and geographical location (northern and southern ends, and border areas) in the country. These play an important, though not exclusive, role in the construction of a regional imaginary. This article claims that the Chilean State articulates economic measures and public policies which do not favor a homogeneous development model.