I am an associate professor of the Institute of Sociology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. My areas of interest are political sociology, social movements, historical-comparative sociology and religion. My research focuses on Latin America, especially Chile. Supervisors: Rory McVeigh and J. Samuel Valenzuela Address: Instituto de Sociología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, P. Universidad Católica de Chile. Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile
MOVIMIENTOS SOCIALES EN Y DESDE AMÉRICA LATINA, 2024
Nos centramos en los movimientos laborales, actores
clásicos de la movilización de las masas lati... more Nos centramos en los movimientos laborales, actores clásicos de la movilización de las masas latinoamericanas desde fines del siglo XIX (Collier y Collier, 2001). Buscamos contribuir en dos dimensiones. Primero, presentamos un diagnóstico sistemático de la represión laboral en la América Latina contemporánea. Para esto empleamos una innovadora base de datos sobre las características y actividades de los movimientos laborales en 17 países latinoamericanos durante el período de 1990 a 2020. Esta base nos permite construir una medida sintética de represión laboral para los distintos países. Segundo, desarrollamos un argumento teórico que pone en el centro el vínculo entre los legados políticos e institucionales y los niveles de represión laboral en cada país. Enfatizamos el rol del momento e intensidad de la industrialización de las economías nacionales durante el siglo XX y sus herencias en el espacio político e institucional, poniendo especial atención a la incorporación de los trabajadores a la arena política. Como primera aproximación empírica al argumento, presentamos breves narrativas históricas (todavía muy iniciales) sobre los países con mayores y menores grados de represión, así como algunos datos estadísticos que sustentan nuestro argumento.
en della Porta, D., Cini L. y Guzmán-Concha, C. (eds.) Student movements in late neoliberalism. Dynamics of contention and their consequences. Londres: Palgrave McMillan, 2021
TheWiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements, Second Edition, 2023
Starting in the early 2000s, Chile experienced a series of protest waves spearheaded by high scho... more Starting in the early 2000s, Chile experienced a series of protest waves spearheaded by high school and university students, environmentalists, feminist activists, indigenous groups, and workers among others (Donoso and von Bülow 2017). In contrast to previous years, the massive protests staged across the country in 2019 were not led by one social movement organization, but by thousands of seemingly unconnected ordinary citizens. Beginning on 18 October, protests by high school students, originally triggered by a rise in the cost of metro fares, evolved into the largest and most sustained protest wave the country had seen since the end of the dictatorship in 1989. Only the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Chile in mid-March 2020, eased the pace of the "social uprising" (estallido social), as it was called in public discussions. A protest event analysis based on almost 20 national and regional media sources demonstrates the intensity and features of the 2019 protests (Somma et al. 2020). Compared to the previous decade and a half, there were nine times more protest events in the 2019 uprising alone. Protestors resorted to all kinds of tactics, including marches, demonstrations, seizing squares, and destroying property. Violent tactics were comparatively more prevalent than in previous years, with a predominance of actions against public and private property, looting stores and supermarkets, setting objects on fire, and burning cars and buildings. Nevertheless, the uprising also resulted in the largest demonstration in Chile's history on 25 October, in which an estimated 1.2 million people-about 15 percent of the national population-peacefully took to the streets in Santiago, the national capital, and other major cities. The 2019 protests brought changes in the relative salience of protest demands. While labor and educational demands had dominated the Chilean protest landscape since the early 2000s, these two became less common during the uprising. Instead, one of the most common rallying cries was "dignity," with a wide range of other demands emphasized, such as better housing, health services, and pensions, ending violence against women, and a new Constitution. These claims were deeply rooted in the socioeconomic exclusion of popular sectors. While usually over 90 percent of Chile's protests tended to voice clear demands, this plummeted to 25 percent during the uprising, a telling sign of its disorganized nature. The Social Unity Table (Mesa de Unidad Social), an umbrella organization composed of worker, student, and pensioner organizations, tried to gain recognition as representing the mobilized masses, but the Mesa was outpaced by the overwhelming and disparate demands of the larger protest movement. While it is difficult to explain the exact timing of the uprising, long-term factors include socioeconomic inequalities, a rigid political system, a growing discontent with the country's political and economic elites, and better mobilizing infrastructures (Somma et al. 2021). In the 1970s, Chile became a "neoliberal laboratory" when dictator Augusto Pinochet liberalized the labor market, retrenched social services, and opened the economy to greater foreign trade and investments. After democracy was regained, living conditions improved and the
The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Latin America, 2020
The study of social movements is currently one of the most active research fields in Latin Americ... more The study of social movements is currently one of the most active research fields in Latin American sociology. This article maps the vast literature on Latin American social move ments (LASMs) from the late 1980s to the present. After briefly discussing how scholars have conceptualized LASMs, it presents seven influential approaches: structuralism, po litical economy, political context, organizational fields, "new social movements," frames and emotions, and transnational activism. Then it discusses some works that zero in on the specificity of LASMs. It closes with a brief summary of the five coming chapters, each of which is devoted to a specific social movement "family": labor, women's, student, in digenous, and anti-globalization.
PROTEST AND DEMOCRACY Edited by Moisés Arce and Roberta Rice, 2019
This chapter analyzes the interactive relationships between social
movements, policies, and polit... more This chapter analyzes the interactive relationships between social movements, policies, and political opportunity structures throughout successive protest waves, and how these relationships, in turn, shape social movements’ political impact. We do so by focusing on the student movement in Chile. Since the mid-2000s, protest waves spearheaded by high school and university students have put education at the top of the policy agenda. After massive protests in 2006, the first administration of President Michelle Bachelet (2006–10) reformed the Constitutional Law of Education, bequeathed by the military regime, and introduced new institutions to improve the quality of education. The pressure exerted by students in the 2011 nationwide protests then broadened the scope of the student movement’s demands. After regaining power in 2014, part of President Bachelet’s policy agenda, which was backed by a broad coalition of center-left political parties, included an overhaul of the education system, a tax reform to make the proposed education reforms financially sustainable, and a new constitution to replace the one left by the military regime. The student movement in Chile sheds light on the processes of scale shift, which McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly define as the “change in the number and level of coordinated contentious actions to a different focal point, involving a new range of actors, different objects, and broadened claims” (2001, 331). For example, a scale shift has occurred when an issue, tactic, or frame that had its origins at the local level is adopted at the national level (Soule 2013, 2). The case study analyzed in this chapter also invites us to think dialogically about the impact of social movements. Movements influence policies, and policy changes alter the conditions under which activists mobilize. As Schattschneider famously argued, “new policies create a new politics” (quoted in Pierson 1993, 595). Yet, as we show in this chapter, the political impact of the Chilean student movement goes beyond its policy outcomes. In line with recent literature that seeks to bridge the relationship between social movements and political parties (Goldstone 2003; Heaney and Rojas 2015; McAdam and Tarrow 2010), we argue that the protest waves led by the student movement have also polarized the dominant center-left coalition internally, and motivated the creation of new political parties and coalitions.
Este artículo plantea quince tesis sobre las protestas colectivas y el conflicto en el Chile cont... more Este artículo plantea quince tesis sobre las protestas colectivas y el conflicto en el Chile contemporáneo, con énfasis en los últimos 5 años. El tema es importante debido a los altos e inesperados niveles de movilización social de dicho período y a su impacto en la clase política. Abordo varias preguntas relacionadas: ¿qué características tiene la protesta colectiva en Chile hoy en día? ¿Por qué aumentó en los últimos años? ¿Cómo se forma el descontento que la nutre? ¿Por qué tanta protesta no generó cambios electorales sustanciales? ¿Y qué obstáculos existen para la generación de un movimiento social transversal con impactos electorales profundos?
This chapter explores relations between discontent, social movements, and collective protest in c... more This chapter explores relations between discontent, social movements, and collective protest in contemporary Chile. It makes three claims. First, much collective protest is fueled by a specific kind of discontent that stems from the combination of a population aggrieved by the market society, political elites unable to reduce such grievances, and political institutions too rigid to incorporate groups willing to reform market structures. Second, although social movements and collective protest require some level of discontent to thrive, there are many types of discontent, not all of which are relevant in triggering protest. Third, a recently articulated " social movement sector " plays a key role in transforming diffuse, inconsequential discontent into one that motivates people to engage in collective protest.
Book chapter in "Handbook of Political Trust", (Eds.) Sonja Zmerli and Tom Van der Meer, 2017
In this article we study how trust in political institutions has evolved among Latin American cou... more In this article we study how trust in political institutions has evolved among Latin American countries. Contrary to previous studies that explain cross-sectional variation between countries, we examine how political trust has evolved within countries across time in the region. We base our empirical analysis in the Latinobarometer dataset, which contains relevant measures of political trust since 1996 onwards, and consider how both individual and contextual characteristics have possibly triggered (or not) changes in political trust among the population. Results from linear multi-level models indicate, among many other results, that: a) within-country variation in levels of political trust is larger than between-country variation for the period between 2002 and 2011; b) within-country variation in political trust is strongly influenced by changes in per capita income as well as by the ideological orientation of governments; and c) within-country variation in political trust also responds, though in a more moderate fashion, to changes in the level of economic inequality in country.
MOVIMIENTOS SOCIALES EN Y DESDE AMÉRICA LATINA, 2024
Nos centramos en los movimientos laborales, actores
clásicos de la movilización de las masas lati... more Nos centramos en los movimientos laborales, actores clásicos de la movilización de las masas latinoamericanas desde fines del siglo XIX (Collier y Collier, 2001). Buscamos contribuir en dos dimensiones. Primero, presentamos un diagnóstico sistemático de la represión laboral en la América Latina contemporánea. Para esto empleamos una innovadora base de datos sobre las características y actividades de los movimientos laborales en 17 países latinoamericanos durante el período de 1990 a 2020. Esta base nos permite construir una medida sintética de represión laboral para los distintos países. Segundo, desarrollamos un argumento teórico que pone en el centro el vínculo entre los legados políticos e institucionales y los niveles de represión laboral en cada país. Enfatizamos el rol del momento e intensidad de la industrialización de las economías nacionales durante el siglo XX y sus herencias en el espacio político e institucional, poniendo especial atención a la incorporación de los trabajadores a la arena política. Como primera aproximación empírica al argumento, presentamos breves narrativas históricas (todavía muy iniciales) sobre los países con mayores y menores grados de represión, así como algunos datos estadísticos que sustentan nuestro argumento.
en della Porta, D., Cini L. y Guzmán-Concha, C. (eds.) Student movements in late neoliberalism. Dynamics of contention and their consequences. Londres: Palgrave McMillan, 2021
TheWiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements, Second Edition, 2023
Starting in the early 2000s, Chile experienced a series of protest waves spearheaded by high scho... more Starting in the early 2000s, Chile experienced a series of protest waves spearheaded by high school and university students, environmentalists, feminist activists, indigenous groups, and workers among others (Donoso and von Bülow 2017). In contrast to previous years, the massive protests staged across the country in 2019 were not led by one social movement organization, but by thousands of seemingly unconnected ordinary citizens. Beginning on 18 October, protests by high school students, originally triggered by a rise in the cost of metro fares, evolved into the largest and most sustained protest wave the country had seen since the end of the dictatorship in 1989. Only the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Chile in mid-March 2020, eased the pace of the "social uprising" (estallido social), as it was called in public discussions. A protest event analysis based on almost 20 national and regional media sources demonstrates the intensity and features of the 2019 protests (Somma et al. 2020). Compared to the previous decade and a half, there were nine times more protest events in the 2019 uprising alone. Protestors resorted to all kinds of tactics, including marches, demonstrations, seizing squares, and destroying property. Violent tactics were comparatively more prevalent than in previous years, with a predominance of actions against public and private property, looting stores and supermarkets, setting objects on fire, and burning cars and buildings. Nevertheless, the uprising also resulted in the largest demonstration in Chile's history on 25 October, in which an estimated 1.2 million people-about 15 percent of the national population-peacefully took to the streets in Santiago, the national capital, and other major cities. The 2019 protests brought changes in the relative salience of protest demands. While labor and educational demands had dominated the Chilean protest landscape since the early 2000s, these two became less common during the uprising. Instead, one of the most common rallying cries was "dignity," with a wide range of other demands emphasized, such as better housing, health services, and pensions, ending violence against women, and a new Constitution. These claims were deeply rooted in the socioeconomic exclusion of popular sectors. While usually over 90 percent of Chile's protests tended to voice clear demands, this plummeted to 25 percent during the uprising, a telling sign of its disorganized nature. The Social Unity Table (Mesa de Unidad Social), an umbrella organization composed of worker, student, and pensioner organizations, tried to gain recognition as representing the mobilized masses, but the Mesa was outpaced by the overwhelming and disparate demands of the larger protest movement. While it is difficult to explain the exact timing of the uprising, long-term factors include socioeconomic inequalities, a rigid political system, a growing discontent with the country's political and economic elites, and better mobilizing infrastructures (Somma et al. 2021). In the 1970s, Chile became a "neoliberal laboratory" when dictator Augusto Pinochet liberalized the labor market, retrenched social services, and opened the economy to greater foreign trade and investments. After democracy was regained, living conditions improved and the
The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Latin America, 2020
The study of social movements is currently one of the most active research fields in Latin Americ... more The study of social movements is currently one of the most active research fields in Latin American sociology. This article maps the vast literature on Latin American social move ments (LASMs) from the late 1980s to the present. After briefly discussing how scholars have conceptualized LASMs, it presents seven influential approaches: structuralism, po litical economy, political context, organizational fields, "new social movements," frames and emotions, and transnational activism. Then it discusses some works that zero in on the specificity of LASMs. It closes with a brief summary of the five coming chapters, each of which is devoted to a specific social movement "family": labor, women's, student, in digenous, and anti-globalization.
PROTEST AND DEMOCRACY Edited by Moisés Arce and Roberta Rice, 2019
This chapter analyzes the interactive relationships between social
movements, policies, and polit... more This chapter analyzes the interactive relationships between social movements, policies, and political opportunity structures throughout successive protest waves, and how these relationships, in turn, shape social movements’ political impact. We do so by focusing on the student movement in Chile. Since the mid-2000s, protest waves spearheaded by high school and university students have put education at the top of the policy agenda. After massive protests in 2006, the first administration of President Michelle Bachelet (2006–10) reformed the Constitutional Law of Education, bequeathed by the military regime, and introduced new institutions to improve the quality of education. The pressure exerted by students in the 2011 nationwide protests then broadened the scope of the student movement’s demands. After regaining power in 2014, part of President Bachelet’s policy agenda, which was backed by a broad coalition of center-left political parties, included an overhaul of the education system, a tax reform to make the proposed education reforms financially sustainable, and a new constitution to replace the one left by the military regime. The student movement in Chile sheds light on the processes of scale shift, which McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly define as the “change in the number and level of coordinated contentious actions to a different focal point, involving a new range of actors, different objects, and broadened claims” (2001, 331). For example, a scale shift has occurred when an issue, tactic, or frame that had its origins at the local level is adopted at the national level (Soule 2013, 2). The case study analyzed in this chapter also invites us to think dialogically about the impact of social movements. Movements influence policies, and policy changes alter the conditions under which activists mobilize. As Schattschneider famously argued, “new policies create a new politics” (quoted in Pierson 1993, 595). Yet, as we show in this chapter, the political impact of the Chilean student movement goes beyond its policy outcomes. In line with recent literature that seeks to bridge the relationship between social movements and political parties (Goldstone 2003; Heaney and Rojas 2015; McAdam and Tarrow 2010), we argue that the protest waves led by the student movement have also polarized the dominant center-left coalition internally, and motivated the creation of new political parties and coalitions.
Este artículo plantea quince tesis sobre las protestas colectivas y el conflicto en el Chile cont... more Este artículo plantea quince tesis sobre las protestas colectivas y el conflicto en el Chile contemporáneo, con énfasis en los últimos 5 años. El tema es importante debido a los altos e inesperados niveles de movilización social de dicho período y a su impacto en la clase política. Abordo varias preguntas relacionadas: ¿qué características tiene la protesta colectiva en Chile hoy en día? ¿Por qué aumentó en los últimos años? ¿Cómo se forma el descontento que la nutre? ¿Por qué tanta protesta no generó cambios electorales sustanciales? ¿Y qué obstáculos existen para la generación de un movimiento social transversal con impactos electorales profundos?
This chapter explores relations between discontent, social movements, and collective protest in c... more This chapter explores relations between discontent, social movements, and collective protest in contemporary Chile. It makes three claims. First, much collective protest is fueled by a specific kind of discontent that stems from the combination of a population aggrieved by the market society, political elites unable to reduce such grievances, and political institutions too rigid to incorporate groups willing to reform market structures. Second, although social movements and collective protest require some level of discontent to thrive, there are many types of discontent, not all of which are relevant in triggering protest. Third, a recently articulated " social movement sector " plays a key role in transforming diffuse, inconsequential discontent into one that motivates people to engage in collective protest.
Book chapter in "Handbook of Political Trust", (Eds.) Sonja Zmerli and Tom Van der Meer, 2017
In this article we study how trust in political institutions has evolved among Latin American cou... more In this article we study how trust in political institutions has evolved among Latin American countries. Contrary to previous studies that explain cross-sectional variation between countries, we examine how political trust has evolved within countries across time in the region. We base our empirical analysis in the Latinobarometer dataset, which contains relevant measures of political trust since 1996 onwards, and consider how both individual and contextual characteristics have possibly triggered (or not) changes in political trust among the population. Results from linear multi-level models indicate, among many other results, that: a) within-country variation in levels of political trust is larger than between-country variation for the period between 2002 and 2011; b) within-country variation in political trust is strongly influenced by changes in per capita income as well as by the ideological orientation of governments; and c) within-country variation in political trust also responds, though in a more moderate fashion, to changes in the level of economic inequality in country.
En América Latina las revueltas urbanas son cada vez más frecuentes y tienen importantes consecue... more En América Latina las revueltas urbanas son cada vez más frecuentes y tienen importantes consecuencias. Sin embargo, la mayoría de las investigaciones existentes se basan en estudios de caso, lo cual impide obtener generalizaciones sobre sus causas, dinámicas y consecuencias. En este artículo discutimos la literatura sobre revueltas urbanas en América Latina y proponemos un marco conceptual para estudiarlas. Definimos las revueltas urbanas con base en cuatro atributos, las distinguimos de otras formas de política contenciosa y presentamos proposiciones sobre su desarrollo y dinámicas. Hipotetizamos que las revueltas urbanas son más probables cuando los sectores urbanos y populares no han sido completamente incluidos política, económica y culturalmente; cuando existen lazos débiles e inorgánicos entre élites políticas y ciudadanía; y cuando los sectores populares están débilmente articulados en asociaciones conectadas horizontalmente. Sin embargo, el momento y dinámica de las revueltas dependen de los factores precipitantes, las respuestas gubernamentales y las condiciones para la difusión de las protestas.
Existe un consenso cada vez mayor sobre la naturaleza complementaria de la política institucional... more Existe un consenso cada vez mayor sobre la naturaleza complementaria de la política institucional y no institucional como medio para impulsar las agendas políticas. Sin embargo, la mayor parte de la investigación tiende a concentrarse en un aspecto de esta relación, a saber, cómo los movimientos sociales influyen en la arena política, por ejemplo, impactando diferentes etapas del proceso de formulación de políticas y creando nuevos partidos políticos. Hay comparativamente menos comprensión de la dinámica inversa: el grado en que los partidos políticos también influyen en el ámbito de la protesta al adoptar y utilizar estrategias y tácticas —comúnmente asociadas con los movimientos sociales— y al conectarse con los manifestantes. Centrándose en Argentina y Chile, dos países que han experimentado oleadas masivas de protestas en los últimos años, este artículo examina la presencia de los partidos políticos en la organización, realización y canalización de manifestaciones. La recepción de los partidos políticos en las manifestaciones está estrechamente ligada a si son bienvenidos o no en el ámbito de la protesta. También analizamos cómo los manifestantes argentinos y chilenos perciben a los partidos políticos y el nivel de identificación que sienten con ellos. Nuestra principal fuente de datos proviene de 1 935 encuestas realizadas como parte de la red Caught in the Act of Protest: Contextualizing Contestation (CCC) entre 2015 y 2017. Encontramos que los partidos políticos en Argentina exhiben vínculos más fuertes con los movimientos sociales en comparación con los de Chile. Buscamos vincular este resultado con patrones divergentes e históricamente arraigados de dinámicas de protesta en ambos países y discutimos las implicaciones de nuestros hallazgos en la conclusión.
This profile examines Peru's unexpected popular uprising of 2022-23, which is distinct from its n... more This profile examines Peru's unexpected popular uprising of 2022-23, which is distinct from its neighbors due to decades of relative calm. We combine three concepts emphasizing time-varying processes: deep-rooted societal inequality across class, ethnicity, and regions resulting in a fragmented civil society (long term); a mounting crisis in political representation (medium term); and the immediate trigger, namely, the removal of President Pedro Castillo (short term), which incited his supporters and sparked widespread protests.
This article analyses the renewal process of the actors and ideas in Chile’s political arena duri... more This article analyses the renewal process of the actors and ideas in Chile’s political arena during the last decade, focusing mainly on the last three years. The 2019 social uprising accelerated this incipient opening of the political arena by igniting a process of constitutional change that is currently underway. The uprising activated previously institutionally marginal actors and social movements and contributed to the victory of the current left-wing Government of Apruebo Dignidad, led by Gabriel Boric. Our analysis shows that the dividing lines between institutional and non-institutional actors are more fluid than usually recognised and that this helps explain the renewal of Chile’s political arena during the last decade.
En este artículo analizamos un proceso de renovación de los actores y las ideas en la arena polít... more En este artículo analizamos un proceso de renovación de los actores y las ideas en la arena política nacional que comenzó en Chile durante la última década, pero en particular desde 2019. Esta incipiente apertura fue acelerada con el estallido social de fines de 2019, que puso en marcha un proceso de cambio constitucional actualmente en curso, que movilizó institucionalmente a actores y movimientos sociales hasta ahora marginales, y contribuyó al triunfo del actual Gobierno de izquierda de Apruebo Dignidad, presidido por Gabriel Boric. Nuestro análisis muestra que las fronteras entre actores institucionales y no institucionales son más fluidas de lo que se ha reconocido y que eso ayuda a explicar la renovación de la arena política en Chile en la última década.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN STUDIES, 2022
With the case of contemporary Chile at hand, the article examines the
institutional contradiction... more With the case of contemporary Chile at hand, the article examines the institutional contradiction between neoliberalism and democracy as a source of social protests and popular rebellions. Chile transitioned in 1990 to a representative democracy, presumably encouraging political equality and participation. However, given the orientation of governments toward fostering capitalist accumulation, Chile did not develop mechanisms for fully incorporating into the political arena the emerging and increasingly resourceful civil society. After decades of incubation, this contradiction produced collective grievances that activated social movements and popular revolts. This coalesced in 2019 when a national-scale social uprising opened a process of constitutional change and democratic innovation. I illustrate this argument by examining contemporary student, indigenous, women and labor mobilizations. Democratic governments responded differently to the demands of these four movements depending on the extent they threatened capital accumulation and state sovereignty. I also pay special attention to the 2019 social uprising and the ongoing constitutional change process (until March 2022), which brings exciting innovations to deliberation and democracy.
La represión es el resultado de acciones policiales y una herramienta de poder del gobierno para ... more La represión es el resultado de acciones policiales y una herramienta de poder del gobierno para relacionarse con la sociedad movilizada. Ésta ha sido bastante estudiada en contextos anglosajones, pero menos en América Latina y Chile. Por ello, este artículo buscó responder si algunos grupos movilizados son más reprimidos que otros y si los gobiernos de centro-derecha reprimen más o menos que los gobiernos de centro-izquierda. Para esto, se usó una base de datos de 4,856 marchas callejeras ocurridas en Chile entre 2010 y 2019 y se modeló la represión policial hacia los manifestantes usando como predictores los grupos movilizados y la ideología del gobierno nacional, además de algunas variables control. Los resultados revelan que los gobiernos de centro-derecha reprimen con mayor intensidad a los manifestantes que los gobiernos de centro-izquierda, donde la represión es particularmente más fuerte hacia a estudiantes e indígenas. Los resultados se discuten en función de la fortaleza de los vínculos entre movimientos sociales y la política institucional complementando el enfoque teórico de las debilidades, uno de los más importantes en la literatura sobre represión de la protesta.
We study the causal relationship between social and political trust in a low trust society, a set... more We study the causal relationship between social and political trust in a low trust society, a setting where this topic has received very little attention. We focus on contemporary Chile, a relatively consolidated new democracy lacking many of the conditions that fosters trust such as high socioeconomic equality, weak social divisions, or universal welfare policies. Our empirical analysis is based on a 4-wave panel survey applied to a representative sample of 2000 Chilean adults interviewed face to face each year between 2016 and 2019. Based on statistical models with varying specifications and assumptions, we find support for the institutionalist view that claims that political trust exercises a positive influence over social trust. However, contrary to recent findings for some European democracies (Sønderskov & Dinesen 2016, Seifert 2018), we also find that social trust positively affects political trust. Our results suggest that the positive relationship between both types of trust travels to different political settings, and that there is no minimum threshold required in levels of trust for this relationship to emerge.
Using social exchange theory, this article presents a new theory for understanding the strategic ... more Using social exchange theory, this article presents a new theory for understanding the strategic choices made by social movement leaders-the "movement exchanges" theory. It looks at how leaders engage in exchanges of valued rewards with constituencies, institutional political players, bystander publics, and voluntary organizations. Leaders receive from these players important rewards (like committed activists, political leverage, and resources) for achieving movement goals. In turn, leaders make strategic choices (expressed in frames, tactics, targets, and claims) that other players find rewarding, favoring persistent exchanges across time. By considering movements' simultaneous exchanges with several players, the theory makes sense of choices that remain puzzling for major movement theories. It also blends strategic behavior with culture (in the form of utopias, ideology, and emotions) but does not require the maximizing assumption of the homo economicus. I use the case of the contemporary Chilean student movement to illustrate the theory.
Chilean politics and society have often puzzled scholars of Latin America. Why has Chile historic... more Chilean politics and society have often puzzled scholars of Latin America. Why has Chile historically developed a continental-style multiparty system? Why was the first democratically elected socialist president Chilean (Salvador Allende in 1970)? Why did Chile adopt neoliberalism so early? Why did Chile experience a massive social uprising in late 2019, despite leading Latin American rankings of human development? How could thirty-fiveyear-old Gabriel Boric, who was leading student protests a decade ago, win the presidency of Chile in late 2021?
Chilean politics and society have often puzzled scholars of Latin America. Why has Chile historic... more Chilean politics and society have often puzzled scholars of Latin America. Why has Chile historically developed a continental-style multiparty system? Why was the first democratically elected socialist president Chilean (Salvador Allende in 1970)? Why did Chile adopt neoliberalism so early? Why did Chile experience a massive social uprising in late 2019, despite leading Latin American rankings of human development? How could thirty-fiveyear-old Gabriel Boric, who was leading student protests a decade ago, win the presidency of Chile in late 2021?
Este artículo analiza las emociones durante la participación en el movimiento por la igualdad de ... more Este artículo analiza las emociones durante la participación en el movimiento por la igualdad de derechos de Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales, personas Transgénero, Intersexuales y Queer (LGTBIQ) en Argentina y Chile. En base a encuestas aplicadas in situ en su principal marcha anual, buscamos contribuir a la literatura sobre movimientos sociales especificando la relación entre emociones y acción colectiva. Demostramos que las emociones no se distribuyen aleatoriamente entre los manifestantes, sino que son moldeadas por características individuales y nacionales. Entre los manifestantes con mayor compromiso activista y mayor movilización cognitiva encontramos las emociones negativas más intensas.
Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, 2021
This article studies the Chilean social uprising of 2019 using the power cages theory. By mobiliz... more This article studies the Chilean social uprising of 2019 using the power cages theory. By mobilizing enormous amounts of disruptive power in the streets through varied protest tactics, ordinary Chileans challenged the economic and political power cages that regulated their daily lives. The uprising also reshaped affective power, broadening horizontal identities and solidarity feelings among popular sectors, women, and protestors, and eroding affective ties between elites and non-elites. The interactions between disruptive and affective power forced political elites to enter in a constitutional process now underway that may reorder power cages in the decades to come.
Resumen: Este artículo estudia los determinantes de la participación en protestas de jóvenes chil... more Resumen: Este artículo estudia los determinantes de la participación en protestas de jóvenes chilenos a partir de encuestas nacionales (2006-2015), usando modelos logísticos que predicen dicha participación. Primero, se identifica que los jóvenes de mayor estatus socioeconómico tienden a protestar más. Además, los jóvenes de izquierda protestan más, pero esa relación es más fuerte para quienes tienen alto estatus. Tercero, los jóvenes con menor confianza en los partidos políticos, pero mayor interés en participar en ellos, protestan más. Finalmente, los jóvenes que pertenecen a clubes deportivos, barras de futbol y organizaciones de scouts asisten más a protestas.
Once upon a time, pluralist (Dahl 1961) and modernization theories (Lipset 1959) described libera... more Once upon a time, pluralist (Dahl 1961) and modernization theories (Lipset 1959) described liberal democracy as a political regime that tended to exclude violence, insurgency, and corruption. A few decades later, Francis Fukuyama (1992) argued that in the long run, liberal democracy would triumph over other political alternatives, and about the same time Samuel Huntington (1991) revealed a massive wave of democratization (or redemocratization) in different parts of the world. But these theses uneasily fit Latin America. O'Donnell's 1994 discussion of del-egative democracies anticipated an argument that has recently received much support: governments democratically elected may behave in nondemocratic ways (Lev-itsky and Way 2010) or may erode democratic institutions without necessarily evolving into full-fledged authoritarianisms (Levitsky and Ziblatt 2018). A bird's-eye view of contemporary Latin America suggests that semidemocratic regimes or new democracies may deeply intermingle with organized violence, insurgency, and corruption, creating stable equilibria that benefit the most powerful players and therefore resist transformation attempts.
We analyse the Chilean Spring of 2019-2020 – the fiercest social
outburst in Chile during the las... more We analyse the Chilean Spring of 2019-2020 – the fiercest social outburst in Chile during the last three decades. After discussing the combined role of long-standing grievances, political attitudes, and cultural change in triggering the outburst, we study the interplay among peaceful and violent protests and criminal activity. We argue that brutal police repression and governmental mismanagement contributed to deepening the crisis once it exploded. We conclude by describing the attempts of the political class to cope with the crisis and speculate about its potential political consequences, especially for the Chilean party system.
Focusing on LGBTIQ demonstrations in Argentina and Chile, we study protesters' attachment to inst... more Focusing on LGBTIQ demonstrations in Argentina and Chile, we study protesters' attachment to institutional politics, defined as their emotional and attitudinal connection with the political system. We show that Argen-tine LGBTIQ demonstrators are on average more attached to institutional politics than Chilean ones. This can be explained neither by differences between Argentines and Chileans in general, nor by demonstrators' individual characteristics. Instead, expanding the political process model, we argue that achieving a substantial part of the LGBTIQ agenda in Argentina, and limited success in Chile, contributed to build a stronger attachment to the political system among Argentine LGBTIQ demonstrators than their Chilean counterparts.
RESUMEN Por medio de un análisis de edad-período-cohorte, aplicado a datos de encuestas realizada... more RESUMEN Por medio de un análisis de edad-período-cohorte, aplicado a datos de encuestas realizadas entre 1994 y 2015, buscamos comprender el declive de la participación electoral ocurrido en Chile durante la actual era democrática. Nuestro análisis con-firma algunas hipótesis previas, pero también ilumina algunas nuevas tendencias. Primero, encontramos efectos de cohorte que indican que las generaciones que vo-taron durante el plebiscito de 1988 tienden a sufragar más que aquellas que se vol-vieron elegibles en democracia. Segundo, la propensión a votar de los chilenos au-menta con el envejecimiento, aunque este efecto es mucho más pronunciado entre las cohortes nacidas después de 1970. Por último, hallamos un marcado y negativo efecto período de carácter lineal, que implica un declive universal en la propensión a concurrir a las urnas de todos los grupos etarios.
ABSTRACT Through an age-period-cohort analysis applied to survey data from 1994 to 2015, we seek to understand the decline in electoral participation that has occurred in Chile during the current democratic era. Our analysis confirms some previous hypotheses, but it also illuminates some new trends. First, we find cohort effects indicating that the generations that voted during the 1988 Plebiscite tend to vote more often than those who became eligible during the democratic era. Second, Chileans' propensity to vote increases with age, although this effect is much more pronounced among cohorts born after 1970. Finally, we find a strong and negative linear period effect, whereby the propensity to vote among all age groups has declined universally.
Este proyecto tiene por objetivo general entender las dinámicas individuales de la protesta colec... more Este proyecto tiene por objetivo general entender las dinámicas individuales de la protesta colectiva en Chile y Argentina. Para esto estudiaremos los sujetos que participan en manifestaciones (quiénes son en términos sociodemográficos, socioeconómicos y actitudinales), los motivos que tienen para protestar, y las trayectorias de movilización que llevan a las personas a manifestarse. Buscamos responder las siguientes preguntas. Primero, ¿hasta qué punto varía la composición social de las manifestaciones entre países, y entre manifestaciones con distintas demandas? ¿Y a qué se deben estas diferencias? Segundo, ¿cuánto varían los motivos que empujan a distintas personas a protestar? ¿Qué explica tales variaciones? Tercero, ¿por qué distintos manifestantes tienen distintas trayectorias de movilización? Abordar estas interrogantes nos permitirá profundizar nuestro conocimiento sobre el tejido social y la articulación de las demandas colectivas en ambos países.
Comparamos Chile y Argentina porque ello permite explorar nuestra hipótesis central: que las formas de organización de la sociedad civil y política afectan las dinámicas individuales de la protesta. En el marco de un “diseño de sistemas más similares” (Przeworski y Teune 1970), ambos países son comparables porque comparten un mismo contexto histórico, cultural y geográfico, tienen similares niveles de desarrollo socio-económico y político, y en las últimas décadas experimentaron transiciones hacia la democracia y hacia un modelo económico neoliberal (Centeno 1994). Sin embargo, ellos difieren en la manera en que se combinaron ambas transiciones (reformas neoliberales bajo un régimen autoritario en Chile y bajo uno democrático en Argentina), generando distintas trayectorias de la sociedad civil y distintas formas de articulación de las demandas políticas y sociales. Argumentamos que esto habría repercutido en las dinámicas individuales de la protesta colectiva. Adicionalmente exploramos cómo variaciones en el tipo de demanda de la protesta (laboral, derechos de minorías sexuales, estudiantil, etc.) y en las características demográficas, socioeconómicas y actitudinales de los manifestantes, impactan en las dinámicas individuales de la protesta.
En términos metodológicos combinaremos tres fuentes de datos. La primera – y principal– se basa en encuestas a manifestantes realizadas en el acto mismo de la protesta. Ello nos permitirá indagar quiénes se manifiestan, por qué lo hacen, y cómo se movilizan. Esta novedosa metodología forma parte del proyecto internacional ‘Caught in the Act of Protest’ (en adelante CCC), al cual buscamos incorporarnos, y que hasta el momento ha sido aplicado en 8 países europeos y 4 países latinoamericanos. Proponemos aplicar 150-300 encuestas en 8 manifestaciones (4 en Chile y 4 en Argentina) vinculadas a distintas demandas de modo tal de poder comparar ambos países. Las manifestaciones tendrán un mínimo de 5000 participantes y seguiremos un procedimiento de selección gracias al cual todos los activistas tienen una probabilidad similar de ser encuestados. Complementaremos las encuestas con un análisis socio-histórico para caracterizar las formas de organización de las sociedades civiles en Chile y Argentina, y un análisis de varias encuestas aplicadas regularmente a la población adulta de ambos países.
Financiado por: - Centro de Estudios de Conflicto y Cohesión Social (2015) - Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT) Nº 1160308 (2016-2018)
This profile examines Peru's unexpected popular uprising of 2022-23, which is distinct fr... more This profile examines Peru's unexpected popular uprising of 2022-23, which is distinct from its neighbors due to decades of relative calm. We combine three concepts emphasizing time-varying processes: deep-rooted societal inequality across class, ethnicity, and regions resulting in a fragmented civil society (long term); a mounting crisis in political representation (medium term); and the immediate trigger, namely, the removal of President Pedro Castillo (short term), which incited his supporters and sparked widespread protests.
I. Introducción Este artículo trata en términos generales sobre la situación de los egresados de ... more I. Introducción Este artículo trata en términos generales sobre la situación de los egresados de las carreras terciarias –universitarias y no universitarias– en los departamentos de Uruguay, y específi camente sobre sus relaciones con el mercado laboral. En este marco, los objetivos centrales son tres: 1. estudiar la distribución de los egresados terciarios en el territorio nacional con el propósito de analizar los distintos niveles de densidad profesional y las características de la estructura de egresados a nivel departamental y regional; 2. analizar las relaciones existentes entre un conjunto de variables referidas a la situación de los egresados terciarios en los mercados de trabajo departamentales con el cometido de establecer una tipología de departamentos; 3. repasar los principales resultados de un intento de establecimiento de asociaciones entre los niveles de densidad profesional departamental y un conjunto de variables sociales, económicas y demográfi cas diversas. La fue...
El objetivo del artículo es analizar el proceso de trabajo de una empresa uruguaya de soft-ware. ... more El objetivo del artículo es analizar el proceso de trabajo de una empresa uruguaya de soft-ware. El rasgo notable a señalar en esta empresa es que la innovación se instala en el proceso de trabajo. La empresa se ubica entre las empresas a nivel mundial, en las que se verifica un movimiento de retorno del trabajo al trabajador, contradictorio y de sentido inverso al movimiento de separación y alienación del trabajo en relación al trabajador, históricamente dominante en la sociedad capitalista. Esto ocurre en una sociedad, como la uruguaya, que se ubica en las antípodas de los proce-sos de innovación, pero que posee elementos favorables a la innovación, en este caso, significativos. Las relaciones sociales de sexo –apenas informadas en el artículo-, se presentan como un objeto privilegiado a investigar. INTRODUCCIÓN El objetivo del artículo es analizar el proceso de trabajo de una empresa uruguaya de soft-ware. 1 La empresa en estudio fue fundada por Ingenieros en Computación uruguayo...
Este artículo analiza las emociones durante la participación en el movimiento por la igualdad de ... more Este artículo analiza las emociones durante la participación en el movimiento por la igualdad de derechos de Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales, personas Transgénero, Intersexuales y Queer (LGTBIQ) en Argentina y Chile. En base a encuestas aplicadas in situ en su principal marcha anual, buscamos contribuir a la literatura sobre movimientos sociales especificando la relación entre emociones y acción colectiva. Demostramos que las emociones no se distribuyen aleatoriamente entre los manifestantes, sino que son moldeadas por características individuales y nacionales. Entre los manifestantes con mayor compromiso activista y mayor movilización cognitiva encontramos las emociones negativas más intensas.
Focusing on LGBTIQ demonstrations in Argentina and Chile, we study protesters' attachment to inst... more Focusing on LGBTIQ demonstrations in Argentina and Chile, we study protesters' attachment to institutional politics, defined as their emotional and attitudinal connection with the political system. We show that Argentine LGBTIQ demonstrators are on average more attached to institutional politics than Chilean ones. This can be explained neither by differences between Argentines and Chileans in general, nor by demonstrators' individual characteristics. Instead, expanding the political process model, we argue that achieving a substantial part of the LGBTIQ agenda in Argentina, and limited success in Chile, contributed to build a stronger attachment to the political system among Argentine LGBTIQ demonstrators than their Chilean counterparts.
en D.A. Snow, D. della Porta, D. McAdam, y B. Klandermans (eds.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements (Nueva York: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.). , 2022
Starting in the early 2000s, Chile experienced a series of protest waves spearheaded by high scho... more Starting in the early 2000s, Chile experienced a series of protest waves spearheaded by high school and university students, environmentalists, feminist activists, indigenous groups, and workers among others (Donoso and von Bülow 2017). In contrast to previous years, the massive protests staged across the country in 2019 were not led by one social movement organization, but by thousands of seemingly unconnected ordinary citizens. Beginning on 18 October, protests by high school students, originally triggered by a rise in the cost of metro fares, evolved into the largest and most sustained protest wave the country had seen since the end of the dictatorship in 1989. Only the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Chile in mid-March 2020, eased the pace of the "social uprising" (estallido social), as it was called in public discussions. A protest event analysis based on almost 20 national and regional media sources demonstrates the intensity and features of the 2019 protests (Somma et al. 2020). Compared to the previous decade and a half, there were nine times more protest events in the 2019 uprising alone. Protestors resorted to all kinds of tactics, including marches, demonstrations, seizing squares, and destroying property. Violent tactics were comparatively more prevalent than in previous years, with a predominance of actions against public and private property, looting stores and supermarkets, setting objects on fire, and burning cars and buildings. Nevertheless, the uprising also resulted in the largest demonstration in Chile's history on 25 October, in which an estimated 1.2 million people-about 15 percent of the national population-peacefully took to the streets in Santiago, the national capital, and other major cities. The 2019 protests brought changes in the relative salience of protest demands. While labor and educational demands had dominated the Chilean protest landscape since the early 2000s, these two became less common during the uprising. Instead, one of the most common rallying cries was "dignity," with a wide range of other demands emphasized, such as better housing, health services, and pensions, ending violence against women, and a new Constitution. These claims were deeply rooted in the socioeconomic exclusion of popular sectors. While usually over 90 percent of Chile's protests tended to voice clear demands, this plummeted to 25 percent during the uprising, a telling sign of its disorganized nature. The Social Unity Table (Mesa de Unidad Social), an umbrella organization composed of worker, student, and pensioner organizations, tried to gain recognition as representing the mobilized masses, but the Mesa was outpaced by the overwhelming and disparate demands of the larger protest movement. While it is difficult to explain the exact timing of the uprising, long-term factors include socioeconomic inequalities, a rigid political system, a growing discontent with the country's political and economic elites, and better mobilizing infrastructures (Somma et al. 2021). In the 1970s, Chile became a "neoliberal laboratory" when dictator Augusto Pinochet liberalized the labor market, retrenched social services, and opened the economy to greater foreign trade and investments. After democracy was regained, living conditions improved and the
Este artículo analiza las emociones durante la participación en el movimiento por la igualdad de ... more Este artículo analiza las emociones durante la participación en el movimiento por la igualdad de derechos de Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales, personas Transgénero, Intersexuales y Queer (LGTBIQ) en Argentina y Chile. En base a encuestas aplicadas in situ en su principal marcha anual, buscamos contribuir a la literatura sobre movimientos sociales especificando la relación entre emociones y acción colectiva. Demostramos que las emociones no se distribuyen aleatoriamente entre los manifestantes, sino que son moldeadas por características individuales y nacionales. Entre los manifestantes con mayor compromiso activista y mayor movilización cognitiva encontramos las emociones negativas más intensas.
No es la definición de 'genocidio' la que se aplica al terrorismo de Estado perpetrado en Chile l... more No es la definición de 'genocidio' la que se aplica al terrorismo de Estado perpetrado en Chile luego del 11 de septiembre de 1973, sino el de 'politicidio', según explica en esta columna para CIPER un académico especializado en sociología política. Se trata de un fenómeno reciente en la historia de la humanidad, pues exige de ciertas condiciones políticas y sociales, que el autor detalla en su texto.
Razones y personas: repensando Uruguay: Gamson, mi psicólogo y las hamburguesas veganas www.razon... more Razones y personas: repensando Uruguay: Gamson, mi psicólogo y las hamburguesas veganas www.razonesypersonas.com/2023/07/gamson-mi-psicologo-y-las-hamburguesas.html 1/6 Página principal Sobre este espacio Temas Contribuyentes Contacto Citar y compartir el material de este sitio j u e v e s , 6 d e j u l i o d e 2 0 2 3 Gamson, mi psicólogo y las hamburguesas veganas Tomado de Razones y Personas. Esta obra está bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución 3.0 No portada. Gamson, mi psicólogo y las hamburguesas veganas
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clásicos de la movilización de las masas latinoamericanas
desde fines del siglo XIX (Collier y Collier, 2001). Buscamos
contribuir en dos dimensiones. Primero, presentamos un
diagnóstico sistemático de la represión laboral en la América
Latina contemporánea. Para esto empleamos una innovadora
base de datos sobre las características y actividades
de los movimientos laborales en 17 países latinoamericanos
durante el período de 1990 a 2020. Esta base nos permite
construir una medida sintética de represión laboral para
los distintos países. Segundo, desarrollamos un argumento
teórico que pone en el centro el vínculo entre los legados
políticos e institucionales y los niveles de represión laboral
en cada país. Enfatizamos el rol del momento e intensidad
de la industrialización de las economías nacionales durante
el siglo XX y sus herencias en el espacio político e institucional,
poniendo especial atención a la incorporación de los
trabajadores a la arena política. Como primera aproximación
empírica al argumento, presentamos breves narrativas
históricas (todavía muy iniciales) sobre los países con mayores
y menores grados de represión, así como algunos datos
estadísticos que sustentan nuestro argumento.
movements, policies, and political opportunity structures throughout
successive protest waves, and how these relationships, in turn, shape social
movements’ political impact. We do so by focusing on the student
movement in Chile. Since the mid-2000s, protest waves spearheaded by
high school and university students have put education at the top of the
policy agenda. After massive protests in 2006, the first administration of
President Michelle Bachelet (2006–10) reformed the Constitutional Law
of Education, bequeathed by the military regime, and introduced new
institutions to improve the quality of education. The pressure exerted
by students in the 2011 nationwide protests then broadened the scope of
the student movement’s demands. After regaining power in 2014, part of
President Bachelet’s policy agenda, which was backed by a broad coalition
of center-left political parties, included an overhaul of the education
system, a tax reform to make the proposed education reforms financially
sustainable, and a new constitution to replace the one left by the military
regime.
The student movement in Chile sheds light on the processes of scale
shift, which McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly define as the “change in the number
and level of coordinated contentious actions to a different focal point,
involving a new range of actors, different objects, and broadened claims”
(2001, 331). For example, a scale shift has occurred when an issue, tactic,
or frame that had its origins at the local level is adopted at the national
level (Soule 2013, 2). The case study analyzed in this chapter also invites us
to think dialogically about the impact of social movements. Movements
influence policies, and policy changes alter the conditions under which activists
mobilize. As Schattschneider famously argued, “new policies create
a new politics” (quoted in Pierson 1993, 595).
Yet, as we show in this chapter, the political impact of the Chilean student
movement goes beyond its policy outcomes. In line with recent literature
that seeks to bridge the relationship between social movements and
political parties (Goldstone 2003; Heaney and Rojas 2015; McAdam and
Tarrow 2010), we argue that the protest waves led by the student movement have also polarized the dominant center-left coalition internally, and motivated the creation of new political parties and coalitions.
clásicos de la movilización de las masas latinoamericanas
desde fines del siglo XIX (Collier y Collier, 2001). Buscamos
contribuir en dos dimensiones. Primero, presentamos un
diagnóstico sistemático de la represión laboral en la América
Latina contemporánea. Para esto empleamos una innovadora
base de datos sobre las características y actividades
de los movimientos laborales en 17 países latinoamericanos
durante el período de 1990 a 2020. Esta base nos permite
construir una medida sintética de represión laboral para
los distintos países. Segundo, desarrollamos un argumento
teórico que pone en el centro el vínculo entre los legados
políticos e institucionales y los niveles de represión laboral
en cada país. Enfatizamos el rol del momento e intensidad
de la industrialización de las economías nacionales durante
el siglo XX y sus herencias en el espacio político e institucional,
poniendo especial atención a la incorporación de los
trabajadores a la arena política. Como primera aproximación
empírica al argumento, presentamos breves narrativas
históricas (todavía muy iniciales) sobre los países con mayores
y menores grados de represión, así como algunos datos
estadísticos que sustentan nuestro argumento.
movements, policies, and political opportunity structures throughout
successive protest waves, and how these relationships, in turn, shape social
movements’ political impact. We do so by focusing on the student
movement in Chile. Since the mid-2000s, protest waves spearheaded by
high school and university students have put education at the top of the
policy agenda. After massive protests in 2006, the first administration of
President Michelle Bachelet (2006–10) reformed the Constitutional Law
of Education, bequeathed by the military regime, and introduced new
institutions to improve the quality of education. The pressure exerted
by students in the 2011 nationwide protests then broadened the scope of
the student movement’s demands. After regaining power in 2014, part of
President Bachelet’s policy agenda, which was backed by a broad coalition
of center-left political parties, included an overhaul of the education
system, a tax reform to make the proposed education reforms financially
sustainable, and a new constitution to replace the one left by the military
regime.
The student movement in Chile sheds light on the processes of scale
shift, which McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly define as the “change in the number
and level of coordinated contentious actions to a different focal point,
involving a new range of actors, different objects, and broadened claims”
(2001, 331). For example, a scale shift has occurred when an issue, tactic,
or frame that had its origins at the local level is adopted at the national
level (Soule 2013, 2). The case study analyzed in this chapter also invites us
to think dialogically about the impact of social movements. Movements
influence policies, and policy changes alter the conditions under which activists
mobilize. As Schattschneider famously argued, “new policies create
a new politics” (quoted in Pierson 1993, 595).
Yet, as we show in this chapter, the political impact of the Chilean student
movement goes beyond its policy outcomes. In line with recent literature
that seeks to bridge the relationship between social movements and
political parties (Goldstone 2003; Heaney and Rojas 2015; McAdam and
Tarrow 2010), we argue that the protest waves led by the student movement have also polarized the dominant center-left coalition internally, and motivated the creation of new political parties and coalitions.
institutional contradiction between neoliberalism and democracy as
a source of social protests and popular rebellions. Chile transitioned in
1990 to a representative democracy, presumably encouraging political
equality and participation. However, given the orientation of governments
toward fostering capitalist accumulation, Chile did not develop
mechanisms for fully incorporating into the political arena the emerging
and increasingly resourceful civil society. After decades of incubation,
this contradiction produced collective grievances that activated
social movements and popular revolts. This coalesced in 2019 when
a national-scale social uprising opened a process of constitutional
change and democratic innovation. I illustrate this argument by examining
contemporary student, indigenous, women and labor mobilizations.
Democratic governments responded differently to the demands
of these four movements depending on the extent they threatened
capital accumulation and state sovereignty. I also pay special attention
to the 2019 social uprising and the ongoing constitutional change
process (until March 2022), which brings exciting innovations to deliberation and democracy.
despite leading Latin American rankings of human development? How could thirty-fiveyear-old Gabriel Boric, who was leading student protests a decade ago, win the presidency of Chile in late 2021?
despite leading Latin American rankings of human development? How could thirty-fiveyear-old Gabriel Boric, who was leading student protests a decade ago, win the presidency of Chile in late 2021?
más, pero esa relación es más fuerte para quienes tienen alto estatus. Tercero, los jóvenes con menor confianza en los partidos políticos, pero mayor interés en participar en ellos, protestan más. Finalmente, los jóvenes que pertenecen a clubes deportivos, barras de futbol y organizaciones de scouts asisten más a protestas.
outburst in Chile during the last three decades. After discussing the
combined role of long-standing grievances, political attitudes, and
cultural change in triggering the outburst, we study the interplay
among peaceful and violent protests and criminal activity. We
argue that brutal police repression and governmental mismanagement
contributed to deepening the crisis once it exploded. We
conclude by describing the attempts of the political class to cope
with the crisis and speculate about its potential political consequences,
especially for the Chilean party system.
ABSTRACT Through an age-period-cohort analysis applied to survey data from 1994 to 2015, we seek to understand the decline in electoral participation that has occurred in Chile during the current democratic era. Our analysis confirms some previous hypotheses, but it also illuminates some new trends. First, we find cohort effects indicating that the generations that voted during the 1988 Plebiscite tend to vote more often than those who became eligible during the democratic era. Second, Chileans' propensity to vote increases with age, although this effect is much more pronounced among cohorts born after 1970. Finally, we find a strong and negative linear period effect, whereby the propensity to vote among all age groups has declined universally.
Comparamos Chile y Argentina porque ello permite explorar nuestra hipótesis central: que las formas de organización de la sociedad civil y política afectan las dinámicas individuales de la protesta. En el marco de un “diseño de sistemas más similares” (Przeworski y Teune 1970), ambos países son comparables porque comparten un mismo contexto histórico, cultural y geográfico, tienen similares niveles de desarrollo socio-económico y político, y en las últimas décadas experimentaron transiciones hacia la democracia y hacia un modelo económico neoliberal (Centeno 1994). Sin embargo, ellos difieren en la manera en que se combinaron ambas transiciones (reformas neoliberales bajo un régimen autoritario en Chile y bajo uno democrático en Argentina), generando distintas trayectorias de la sociedad civil y distintas formas de articulación de las demandas políticas y sociales. Argumentamos que esto habría repercutido en las dinámicas individuales de la protesta colectiva. Adicionalmente exploramos cómo variaciones en el tipo de demanda de la protesta (laboral, derechos de minorías sexuales, estudiantil, etc.) y en las características demográficas, socioeconómicas y actitudinales de los manifestantes, impactan en las dinámicas individuales de la protesta.
En términos metodológicos combinaremos tres fuentes de datos. La primera – y principal– se basa en encuestas a manifestantes realizadas en el acto mismo de la protesta. Ello nos permitirá indagar quiénes se manifiestan, por qué lo hacen, y cómo se movilizan. Esta novedosa metodología forma parte del proyecto internacional ‘Caught in the Act of Protest’ (en adelante CCC), al cual buscamos incorporarnos, y que hasta el momento ha sido aplicado en 8 países europeos y 4 países latinoamericanos. Proponemos aplicar 150-300 encuestas en 8 manifestaciones (4 en Chile y 4 en Argentina) vinculadas a distintas demandas de modo tal de poder comparar ambos países. Las manifestaciones tendrán un mínimo de 5000 participantes y seguiremos un procedimiento de selección gracias al cual todos los activistas tienen una probabilidad similar de ser encuestados. Complementaremos las encuestas con un análisis socio-histórico para caracterizar las formas de organización de las sociedades civiles en Chile y Argentina, y un análisis de varias encuestas aplicadas regularmente a la población adulta de ambos países.
Financiado por:
- Centro de Estudios de Conflicto y Cohesión Social (2015)
- Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT) Nº 1160308 (2016-2018)
Miembro de la red: PROTEST SURVEY