This document reconstructs the process that culminated in the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and the United States. It provides a historical and political context within which constants and ruptures in the Chilean political economy are identified. In particular, the effects of the democratic transition for the economic opening process initiated by Chile several decades ago are highlighted. The author concludes that the FTA is the result of an extended process of economic opening in Chile, on the one hand, along with Chile’s international reinsertion as a democratic nation.