The role of the State has been widely recognized as a key and early factor in the fonnation and consolidation of the social and political system of Chile since the midd1e of the XIX century (Martίnez 1985; Cariola/Sunkel 1982). 1bis role was strengthened through the decade of the 1920s onwards, as the State became increasingly involved in the gradual incorporation of new social groups emerging with the transformation of the productive strueture of the country.