Collective action and business representation: the case of Sociedad de Agricultores y Ganaderos del Valle del Valle del Cauca, Colombia, 1940-2002

Abstract

Entrepreneurs build business associations to organize collective action and provide goods and services to their members. This article explores the origin and evolution of the Sociedad de Agricultores y Ganaderos (SAG) del Valle del Cauca and determines their role and function in the agency of agricultural interests in the Colombian economy. Based on board minutes, correspondence, presidency reports and the Revista Agrícola y Ganadera editorials, we analyze the position of the SAG in three projects: the World Bank mission led in 1950 by Lauchlin B. Currie; the application of investment program by David Lilienthal in 1954; and the Law 135 of 1961 or Agrarian Reform Law. Based on this analysis, we argue that the Logic of Influence and Logic of Services drove the behavior of the SAG.