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Algeria
The Entrepreneurial Class
One of the most recent sectors of civil society to emerge as
an independent movement is that of the entrepreneurs. For most
of Algeria's political history, the socialist orientation of the
state precluded the development of a class of small business owners
and resulted in strong public anticapitalist sentiment. Economic
liberalization under Benjedid transformed many state-owned enterprises
into private entities and fostered the growth of an active and
cohesive group of professional associations of small business
owners, or patronat. The patronat has maintained
almost continuous dialogue with the government, has strongly supported
government reforms, and has persisted in its lobbying efforts.
The patronat consists of well over 10,000 members and
is steadily expanding. Some of its member associations include
the Algerian Confederation of Employers, the General Confederation
of Algerian Economic Operators, and the General Union of Algerian
Merchants and Artisans.
Data as of December 1993
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