Amplifying dignity in the neoliberal city: the Pobladores movement in Chile

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Chilean pobladores housing movement gained prominence among Chile’s 2019 wave of protests. The contemporary pobladores movement re-emerged in 2000 and since then has mobilized for the right to dignified housing and a dignified life. Values like work, effort, and collective commitment have been fundamental within its historical narratives since the 1960s, but these have significantly evolved over time, reflecting the major changes in the social and political environments in which it operates. Using framing analysis and drawing on an empirical qualitative study which includes interviews with leaders, activists, and participants in housing committees, in this article we explore how the dignity frame, as elaborated by four pobladores organizations, has contributed to the remobilization of the urban poor in Chile, a country which stands out for its neoliberal urban policies in Latin America and the Global South.