Workers’ organization and labor policies in Mexico’s and Chile’s copper mines, 1900-1940

Abstract

The article analyzes the formation and development of copper mining in Mexico and Chile during the first half of the 20th century. It is an unfinished exploration and responds to the need to study regional historical processes from a comparative perspective in order to recognize periods related to broader economic and political processes. By examining the history of union organization, working-class culture and labor policies of the governments of the time, it is possible to note similarities between the experiences of both countries’ mining sites. In addition, differentiated pathways concerning union activism, ideological and political influences and the workers’ forms of negotiation with the State are recognized. The multinational nature of mining companies in Mexico and Chile allowed the formation of enclaves with similar characteristics in their primary stage, but with differences after being transformed by workers while negotiating with and confronting firms and the State.