Chilean State Research Articles

Thirsty Country: State, Water, and the “War on Drought” in Chile in the 1960s

Objective/Context: This paper studies the role of the Chilean state during the great drought of 1967-1969 as a mediator between human beings and nature. Institutional adaptations and the effort to improve the infrastructure were elements of continuity with respect to previous droughts, but there were novelties as well, such as attempts to pursue weather modification and the artificial melting of glaciers. The support of technologies and scientists operating from peripheral state institutions was essential for these purposes. All the above took place in the context of the Cold War when the predominant environmental imaginaries made human intervention look favorable and necessary for the modernization of countries. Methodology: Diverse primary sources were used, such as ministerial documents, decrees, bulletins, and reports of different state institutions that allowed understanding the logic of state management during the water crisis. Similarly, research in national and international press helped identify how imaginaries about the environment were expressed and disseminated publicly, which tended to validate novel efforts to control nature. Originality: This is an original study for Latin America, which addresses the early appearance of science and technology in the efforts of what today would be known as geoengineering: mainly through the observation of new actors, which expanded the traditional forms of mediation between humans and nature, led by the state, concerning climate crises. Conclusions: In the 1960s, optimism grew for the human capacity to control and manipulate water resources by appealing to ways other than those previously known, associated with infrastructure development. Expert knowledge was placed at the service of peripheral institutions of the state to promote these changes with lasting consequences. The human desire to control nature at all costs was validated, which helps explain the temporal projection of experiments with artificial rain and glacier control to the present day in Chile.

Disasters as Critical Junctures: State Building and Industrialization in Chile after the Chillán Earthquake of 1939

AbstractIn 1939 an earthquake destroyed south-central Chile, especially the city of Chillán. This event was arguably the most catastrophic socio-natural disaster in Chilean history, yet it has been mostly ignored in historical research. This article shows that the earthquake triggered a critical juncture for the Chilean state and was a determining factor in some of the most important institutional developments of the period. Using primary sources, the article describes this juncture, focusing on the destabilizing effect of the earthquake and linking it to the creation of two new state institutions, the Production Development Corporation (CORFO) and the Reconstruction and Assistantship Corporation (CRA), together with other important changes in state capacities. It concludes that the disaster is crucial in understanding the Chilean transition from an exporting economy to an import-substituting one after 1940, and to account for the strength of the Chilean state in the decades to come.

Double Bind: Alejandro Lipschütz and the Failure of Transnational Indigenismo in Chile

AbstractThis article examines the life and career of Alejandro Lipschütz, Chile's most accomplished indigenista, to investigate his influence on the scientific and political discourse about the role of indigenous peoples in modern American states, known as indigenismo. Trained as an experimental biologist, Lipschütz criticized prevailing views of race in the Americas, arguing for a social interpretation and analysis of racial categories that defined indigeneity. Lipschütz then promoted the creation of an indigenous institute within the Chilean state and advocated on behalf of the Mapuche people. Because indigenous leaders themselves developed a strong political movement in the mid twentieth century, transnational indigenismo failed to produce meaningful or lasting progress in Chile. That failure convinced Lipschütz that indigenous peoples should preserve and strengthen traditional communities and seek political autonomy. This analysis joins a growing body of scholarship that challenges conventional views of indigenismo, which characterize it as a repressive ideology used by paternalistic states. This study of Alejandro Lipschütz prefigures the shift toward acknowledging the greater indigenous agency that accompanied identity-based social movements emerging in the 1980s.

Fighting Unemployment in Twentieth-Century Chile

Fighting Unemployment in Twentieth-Century Chile

REASSESSMENT OF THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF THE CHILEAN DESERT LIZARD Liolaemus torresi (NÚÑEZ, NAVARRO, GARÍN, PINCHEIRA-DONOSO & MERIGGIO, 2003, SQUAMATA, LIOLAEMIDAE): AN ENDANGERED (EN) OR NEAR THREATENED SPECIES (NT)?

Liolaemus torresi is a small lizard that inhabits Chile’s Atacama Desert, which is the driest desert in the world. The species was first recorded in 1983, and no more specimens were seen until 2001. Several authors have stated that L. torresi has extremely low population densities and, to date, it has been recorded in only 18 localities. In 2017, the IUCN listed L. torresi as an Endangered species (EN B1abiii,v), based on the B1 criterion of Extent of Occurrence (EOO). However, the EOO polygon did not include the type locality, the paratypes collection localities, the southernmost records, or several of the northernmost records of its distributional range. The Chilean State, through the Ministry of the Environment, initially (2018) proposed a similar conservation category (EN B1abiii + 2abiii), but later (2020) a decree listed L. torresi as Near Threatened (NT). In this paper, we expand the distributional range of L. torresi (four new records) and provide evidence for some previous records that had been lacking it. Since the IUCN (EN) and the Chilean (NT) conservation categories do not match, we reassess the conservation status of L. torresi using updated information and following the IUCN categories and criteria. We conclude that L. torresi should be categorized as NT, and provide all the necessary background for a further Red List update.

Introducing MACEDA: New micro-data on an indigenous self-determination conflict

This article introduces MACEDA, a micro-level dataset on the self-determination (SD) conflict between the Chilean state and the indigenous Mapuche. Although SD disputes are one of the most common conflicts in the world, and indigenous movements represent about 40% of all SD movements, this is the first micro-dataset focused on an indigenous SD conflict. MACEDA covers the period 1990–2016, including more than 2,600 events collected from local media. As indigenous conflicts are much less violent in terms of casualties, we take a flexible definition of conflict, based on its constituent events, and we discuss the comparability and generalization of our approach. To illustrate the usefulness of these micro-data in the analysis of conflict-related theories, we present a descriptive empirical analysis on the strategies of indigenous resistance, and we discuss how the data can be used in the causal analysis of conflicts.

¿Diseño decolonizador? Te invito a leer y decolonizarte. Seis guías de diseño arquitectónico étnico de infraestructura pública

In recent decades, the integration of communities into the processes and attention to local identities have become a basic condition in the design of public buildings. However, when those designs are developed from a centralized state structure, communication with the local environment becomes difficult. That led the Chilean state - through the Directorate of Architecture of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) - to develop a series of Guides for Ethnic Architectural Design of Public Infrastructure. In this debate, we are interested in delving into the capacity of these guides to decolonize architectural design. Are they a useful tool for this purpose? What is their role in the design process? Do they allow a horizontal dialogue to be established with the communities? Or are they a tool to fix an identity from above?

¿Diseño decolonizador? Arquitectura y pertinencia cultural: visiones de decolonización

In recent decades, the integration of communities into the processes and attention to local identities have become a basic condition in the design of public buildings. However, when those designs are developed from a centralized state structure, communication with the local environment becomes difficult. That led the Chilean state - through the Directorate of Architecture of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) - to develop a series of Guides for Ethnic Architectural Design of Public Infrastructure. In this debate, we are interested in delving into the capacity of these guides to decolonize architectural design. Are they a useful tool for this purpose? What is their role in the design process? Do they allow a horizontal dialogue to be established with the communities? Or are they a tool to fix an identity from above?

Of Old Men, Country Clubs, and Atrocities: The Visualities and Externalities of Detaining Elderly Human Rights Violators in Chile

Abstract This article explores a pair of powerful but competing symbols in the Chilean human transitional justice process: ‘pobres viejitos’ (poor little old men) and country club prisons. The symbol of the ‘pobres viejitos’ is used very effectively by conservative elements of Chilean society to argue the futility or even inhumanity of punishing perpetrators of human right violations so long after the commission of their crimes. In turn, to victims and more liberal segments of society, the country club or ‘five star’ prison for human rights violators stands as a symbol of impunity and the failure of the Chilean state to do justice for the crimes of the dictatorship. This article examines the power of these symbols in undermining support for transitional justice efforts, as well as the externalities of the debate. The fate of the ‘pobres viejitos’ and whether to release the from even their relatively comfortable places of confinement has bled into debates on penal reform for other elderly prisoners. This mostly negative externality suggests the need for international and regional courts (or countries not in the throes of transitional justice processes, particularly delayed ones) to lead the way on the articulation of human rights norms related to the trial and punishment of elderly prisoners.

Artificial Intelligence in the New Forms of Environmental Governance in the Chilean State: Narratives, Operations and Frictions

Artificial Intelligence in the New Forms of Environmental Governance in the Chilean State: Narratives, Operations and Frictions

Https://doi.org/10.31876/rcs.v28i4.39112

Gender perspective in universities has become a topic of extreme relevance in the management and governance of these educational entities since it seeks to contribute to the construction of a more just society where men and women have the same rights and opportunities in the educational, economic, and labor spheres. From this perspective, this work seeks to characterize the actions being carried out in the area of gender, which are being put into practice in Chilean state universities through a documentary review that included scientific articles and various institutional documents. Generally, it was detected that there is a direct involvement from the strategic level, evidenced by the creation of a new institutional framework. It is concluded that universities face the challenge of adapting their forms of government and promoting the required cultural change, according to the particular needs of each institution.

University Enrollment and Gratuidad (Tuition-Free Program): Educational Mobility and Territorial Mobility in a Non-Metropolitan Region of Chile

After intense student mobilization processes, in 2016 the Chilean State created the funding mechanism known as gratuidad (tuition-free program) to pursue higher education. It is supposed that this mechanism rationalizes State aid and encourages usually excluded groups to enroll at universities, but the evidence is controversial. Using administrative data from the Region de Los Lagos students, the universe that entered the university in 2018 is compared to the subgroup that additionally accessed to gratuidad. The association between social characteristics of origin and access to the university is examined, both from the perspective of educational mobility and territorial mobility. The results show that students from lower socioeconomic status access to universities mainly in the region where they reside. It is concluded that the tuition-free program is well focused, although, by itself, it does not remove all the barriers to greater socioeconomic and territorial equity.

Genetic Approach on Sanionia uncinata (Hedw.) Loeske to Evaluate Representativeness of in situ Conservation Areas Among Protected and Neighboring Free Access Areas in Maritime Antarctica and Southern Patagonia

The Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs) are zones with restricted access to protect outstanding environmental, scientific, historic, aesthetic, or wilderness values adopted inside the Antarctic Treaty System. Meanwhile, in southern Patagonia, conservation initiatives are implemented by the state of Chile and private entities. However, both are considered unrepresentative. Our work evaluates the representativeness of thein situconservation through a genetic approach of the mossSanionia uncinata(Hedw.) Loeske among protected and neighboring free access areas in Maritime Antarctica and southern Patagonia. We discuss observed presence with both current and reconstructed past potential niche distributions (11 and 6 ka BP) in the Fildes Peninsula on King George Island. Results showed occurrence of several spatially genetic subpopulations distributed inside and among ASPA and free access sites. Some free access sites showed a higher amount of polymorphism compared with ASPA, having ancestry in populations developed in those places since 6 ka BP. The different spatial and temporal hierarchies in the analysis suggest that places for conservation of this species in Maritime Antarctica are not well-represented, and that some free access areas should be considered. This work represents a powerful multidisciplinary approach and a great challenge for decision-makers to improve the management plans and the sustainable development in Antarctica.

"It's not 30 pesos. It´s 500 years": monuments, memory and activism in the Wallmapu during the estallido social in Chile

This article studies to what extent the interaction between activists and historical monuments during the 2019 Chilean protests created a shift in the interpretation of the country's past, thus facilitating the emergence of alternative and more inclusive narratives able to challenge hegemonic power structures. The article embarks on this endeavour through an analysis of three cases of demonumentalisation that occurred in the Chilean city of Temuco on the 29th of October 2019. Methodologically, the article engages with a combination of theories regarding the coloniality of power, the politics of aesthetics, and cultural memory. Finally, the paper concludes by arguing that Chilean activists' engagement in the practice of demonumentalisation exposed alternative narratives concerning the historical conflict between the Chilean state and the Mapuche community. Making visible the perpetuation of unjust social structures in Chilean society and creating bonds of solidarity between the Chilean mass movement and the Mapuche movement.

Restorations in Chile in the Mid-Twentieth Century: The National Monuments Council and Some of the First Architectural Heritage Interventions

This paper presents the initial results of an ongoing historical research project that addresses some of the first architectural restoration interventions led by the Chilean State through the National Monuments Council, the institution responsible for management of the country’s cultural heritage. The National Monuments Council was created in 1925 by Decree-Law No. 651, the first long-standing legal provision to cover this aspect of cultural heritage. It remained in place for several decades before being superseded in 1970 by the current National Monuments Law (No. 17,288). The State’s first steps in regard to architectural restoration were made possible by this legislation, and by the mid-twentieth century, the National Monuments Council was working systematically to register, analyse and take action to restore the country’s architectural heritage. In 1949, a Conservation Commission was formed as part of the Council, and this body played a key role in the promotion of restoration projects at the time. The National Monuments Council worked in partnership with the General Directorate of Public Works, and efforts on the part of the two public institutions resulted in the creation of an annual budget for architectural restoration. By the 1950s, numerous buildings and sites considered relevant to the national identity were being restored, and efforts were made to emphasise their cultural significance and value. These early interventions were some of the first of their type to be funded by the State and were fundamental to the local architectural historical context. Work focused primarily on religious and military colonial buildings, including churches, chapels and fortresses located the length of Chile. Archival material from the time, such as National Monuments Council session minutes and institutional bulletins drafted under Decree-Law No. 651, provide a record of these early interventions. Analysis of these sources from a technical and theoretical perspective provides insights into the motivations and selection criteria used to establish an order of priority for the restoration of buildings and sites. This paper presents the main actions taken at a time when architectural restoration was first being promoted by the Chilean State and explores how these provided the foundations upon which future development of the local discipline would occur.

“Everywhere there are distilled spirits”: Alcohol Consumption and Alcoholism on the Chilean Frontier at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Objective/Context: The incorporation of the Araucania region into Chilean territory, after the end of the military occupation in 1883, led to an increased process of colonization, exploration by traveling scientists, and the settlement of missionaries in the area. In addition, mestizo rural laborers (rotos) and European colonists joined the fronterizos, settlers who were already living on the frontier before the occupation. This article analyses the dynamics and effects of alcohol consumption and alcoholism regarding the perception of mestizo settlers and the indigenous population on the Chilean frontier at the turn of the twentieth century. Methodology: The analysis relies on primary sources, consisting mainly of travel books, reports, and scientific publications written by Chilean and European scientists, politicians, and missionaries, that have not yet been sufficiently studied. Originality: Using the less studied example of alcohol consumption on the Chilean frontier, this work’s contribution consists of demonstrating how the intense processes of occupation and colonization—and, in particular, the perceptions of different actors about indigenous and mestizo settlers—resulted in new forms of stigmatizing the settlers called rotos and the indigenous population, and, consequently, in the consolidation of social hierarchies. Conclusions: While alcohol consumption was acceptable for certain populations, as evidenced by the wine industry’s simultaneous prosperity, it was reprehensible for indigenous people and mestizo settlers. Because of the stigmatized perception of these social groups as drunk, lazy, and poor, especially in the context of intensive colonization that provoked increasing interest in lands occupied mainly by indigenous people and fronterizos, alcoholism can be interpreted as a vehicle for specific dynamics of exclusion. Ancient conceptions of a heroic indigenous culture, in the long run, led missionaries to strive to “protect” these groups from alcoholism, while traders used the images of heroic araucanos to establish extractive economies for national and foreign markets. The analyzed documents reveal that the indigenous population, as well as the rotos, became portrayed as helpless victims in need of moral education by intellectuals and missionaries, which sought to legitimize missionary work. In this sense, perceptions, social practices, and the mobility of knowledge on alcohol consumption proved to be a highly disputed field in the context of colonization and the incorporation of Araucania into the Chilean state.

Trans Readings and Translocalities in Beyond the Pink Tide

Trans Readings and Translocalities in <i>Beyond the Pink Tide</i>

The Early History of Water Wars in Chile: Rivers, Ecological Disaster and Multinational Mining Companies

Abstract This article examines an early water war in Chile between local agriculturalists and the North American-owned El Teniente copper mine. It recovers a hitherto unknown history of ecological degradation caused by industrial copper mining during the twentieth century in Chile. It argues that contemporary water wars in Chile, usually viewed as a product of the privatisation of water rights in 1981 and the expansion of foreign investment in the mining sector during the 1990s, combined with the impact of global climate change, have roots in the appropriation of water in Andean rivers by North American companies at the beginning of the twentieth century. The article's thesis is that the Chilean state subsidised the mining industry by granting water rights and turning a blind eye to mining companies' contamination of rivers relied on by agriculturalists for irrigation. Finally, the article traces conservationist responses to the ecological crises produced by contamination of water and soil by the El Teniente mine, which was owned by the Kennecott Copper Company. It demonstrates that conservation of water resources was employed by estate owners as a means of asserting private property rights against the interests of mining companies.

La ciudad de Valdivia: Centralismo, configuración urbana y políticas de vivienda. Continuidades y contradicciones desde el sur (1909-1990)

The metropolitan centralism exercised from Santiago to other Chilean cities is reflected in different scales of power. The housing policies implemented since the early twentieth century detail the progress and the contradictions for the urban orientation of middle cities whose morphology complicated the capital’s decisions. The case of Valdivia recognizes these two issues. On one hand, political management that proposed to be applied unilaterally throughout the territory, and on the other the exceptional nature of the generation of a housing solution with a local perspective; both in terms of a material nature and access placing attention on natural as well as human events in its urban configuration. This article attempts to organize the development of these policies in Valdivia, starting from primary sources that contain the foundations of the four essential structures of the past century: Consejo Superior de Habitaciones Obreras, Caja de Habitacion Popular, Corporacion de la Vivienda, and the beginnings of the Servicio de Vivienda y Urbanizacion. These organizations represent the spirit of the legislation and its effects, but also the focus of metropolitan power, which, until today continues to be one of the main sources of tension for the Chilean State.

Contested mobilities in the maritory: Implications of boundary formation in a nomadic space

The mobility of nomadic Indigenous people has been systematically constrained over time by states seeking control over peripheral spaces and people. This is evident in the case of the Kawésqar nomadic ‘people of the sea’ who have been subject to a century of attempts by the Chilean state to spatially fix their movements over both their terrestrial territories and marine ‘maritories’. In this paper, we show how Indigenous groups like the Kawésqar can challenge and even regain partial control over their maritory by using spatial instruments of the state. We argue that by using these instruments to remobilise, the Kawésqar have been empowered to demobilise other groups and marine related sectors, such as aquaculture. These findings can reorient public policy to be more sensitive to Indigenous space and mobility. Instead of focusing exclusively on the establishment of spatial boundaries to exclude Indigenous communities, they can be used as a means of empowering these communities to exert control over actors and sectors seeking to limit their mobility.