Protests In Chile Research Articles

The Spatial Impact of Crowds in the Chilean Social Explosion: A Case Study of Postpolitical Democracy

This paper introduces an innovative methodology for estimating crowd sizes at significant events, particularly focusing on protests. This method combines aerial photography with urban mapping to enhance accuracy in measuring participant numbers. Originating from the analysis of extensive social protests in Chile, this approach was notably applied to what was reported as the largest march, where mainstream media claimed attendance exceeded one million. However, utilizing this new methodology, we recalculated the figure to be 354,167, challenging previous estimations. This research offers a reliable, repeatable tool for quantifying attendance at large gatherings, shedding light on the dynamics of public mobilization and space utilization. It provides a framework for assessing the comparative mobilization strength of various social movements and can extend to other large public events like concerts and sports, helping to gauge public engagement levels. Accurate crowd size estimations can inform policymakers, leading to more informed decisions and fostering a dialogue-based relationship between authorities and the public. By understanding protest scales and impacts, policies can be more aligned with societal needs, promoting a more inclusive and participatory democratic environment. This article, therefore, not only presents a methodological advancement but also underscores its applicability in enhancing democratic governance and public policy formulation.

Grievance shocks and coordination in protest

AbstractWhen grievance shocks have heavy tails, large sudden increases in grievances coordinate behavior far more effectively into protests than a sequence of small grievance shocks that generate the same final distribution of grievances in society. That is, society as a whole behaves like the legendary boiling frog, even though each individual does not. An implication is a strong form of path‐dependence in collective action. To assess a society's potential for protest, it is not enough to know the current distribution of antiregime sentiments; we also need to know how they came about: suddenly or gradually. The theory also provides a rationale for the classic J‐curve theory of revolution. We provide a quantitative analysis of the relationship between grievance shocks and protests in Chile in 2014–2019. Consistent with the theory, results suggest that, even after controlling for grievance levels, large grievance shocks increased the number of protests.

Visual-functional impact of people affected by severe ocular trauma during social protests in Chile in 2019.

To determine the impact on the functionality associated with visual loss (VFIP) in people with severe ocular trauma (SOT) caused by kinetic impact projectiles used in police crowd control through a prioritization tool in people admitted to a rehabilitation program in Santiago de Chile from December 02, 2019, to November 13, 2020. Across-sectional descriptive study of SOT victims (N = 85), average age 31.4 ± 11.9. The data were recorded through a new 9-item screening instrument for assessment and prioritization of rehabilitation created for this emergency scenario. The impact of the use of kinetic weapons resulted in monocular blindness in the majority of those affected (n = 68; 80.0%). The highest VFIP observed was among young men from lower social strata. There were extreme difficulties in the performance of productive tasks (occupational and/or educational) (n = 42; 49.4%) and the pursuit of hobbies and pastimes (n = 23; 27.1%), as well as a high difficulty in adapting to changes in brightness (n = 29; 34.1%) and handling objects accurately (n = 22; 25.9%). The use of kinetic weapons for crowd control resulted in high and extreme VFIP and, in most cases, monocular blindness, causing major difficulties in work, study, and development of hobbies and pastimes in the affected population, highlighting the urgent need for effective rehabilitative care, which requires special attention in order to generate an adequate rehabilitation program. The use of kinetic weapons for crowd control contravenes international goals, policies, and plans set by the WHO and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness on strategies to prevent avoidable blindness worldwide until 2020. It is essential to ban the use of these weapons in Chile and worldwide, as well as to revise police protocols for crowd control.

Why Chile “Woke Up.” Antecedents of the Formation of Prochange Group Consciousness Promoting Collective Action

In October 2019, student protests in Chile quickly expanded into a mobilization of more than three million citizens, who protested for nearly a year and successfully brought about sociopolitical change. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the social‐psychological processes behind the Chile despertó, we analyze the protests using the group‐consciousness model. The model assumes that collective action is fuelled by a sense of belonging to a group formed around the unifying idea of sociopolitical change through a new constitution, anger at the current status quo, and a belief that protesters can work together to effect the desired change. Data from over 700 Chileans collected in May 2020 indicate that (1) group consciousness is an important construct related to participation in collection action, (2) the main predictors of the group consciousness of Chile despertó are perceived social inequality and unfairness of authorities, and (3) family support and left‐wing ideology are positively related to participation in collection action, which are partially mediated by group consciousness. Thus, the current study highlights unique factors that contributed to the Chile despertó and highlights the commonalities of key social‐psychological processes in collective action.

Police, Violence, and the “Logic of Damage”: Comparing U.S. and Chilean Media Portrayals of Protests

ABSTRACT Drawing from the protest paradigm and the mediation opportunity structure, this study textually analyzes mainstream and alternative media coverage of the 2019 inequality protests in Chile and the 2020 racial justice protests in the United States. In both cases, violence and forceful policing were linked to the protests, allowing this study to explore mediated violence and compare the discursive construction of the demonstrations, protesters, and police as articulated through 1) violence/damage, 2) repression, 3) oppression, and 4) blame. Findings revealed Chilean and U.S. mainstream media emphasized protester violence in juxtaposition with police trying to maintain order, peacefulness was portrayed as a novelty, and violence was disengaged from historical context. In contrast, alternative media treated protester violence as a response to structural violence, and police repression of protesters was criticized. This study shows the continued pervasiveness of the protest paradigm in mainstream news, and the way alternative media can offer discursive opportunities to counterframe police and protester violence and challenge mainstream media’s hostile portrayals of protesters’ use of the logic of damage. Ultimately, we suggest media and discursive opportunity structures are key to understanding mainstream and alternative media portrayals of protests.

The role of protests on the journey to a politics without violence

This article explores the relationship between protest, violence and the possibility of a politics without violence. It argues that protest is not only a valid but also a necessary vehicle for the journey towards a politics without violence. Nevertheless, violence can emerge within protests as well as in response to them. The article will propose a thinking tool for understanding violence as a phenomenon with multiple expressions. It discusses movements to de-sanction violence and the research that has highlighted the role of non-violent protest, constructive nonviolent action and civil resistance in the history of social change. It will reflect on recent data bases which record the rise in protests in recent years and the role of violence within them. Finally, it will take the social protests in Chile and Colombia in 2019 and 2021, where although violence erupted mainly as vandalism and looting, with severe violent police responses, both protests, we argue, contributed to delineating a politics without violence through generating intermediation channels between the demands of the street and the institutional mechanisms for processing social change.
 Received: 07 August 2022 Accepted: 28 November 2022

Deliberative talk, critical communities and the making of the 2018 Chilean feminist student movement

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the long-term causes behind massive feminist student protests in Chile in 2018. Based on in-depth interviews with key protagonists, it argues that the 2018 cycle owed a great deal to small feminist communities emerging during the prior decade within various student networks. Animated by sustained deliberation about the shortcomings of student sexual politics and a surge of feminism in Chile and abroad, these groups brought feminist ideas into the student movement, contributing to the development of identities, frames, organizations and repertoires that facilitated the take-off of protest in 2018. More generally, the paper suggests that attention to deliberative talk and critical communities illuminates how processes of social movement spillover, cognitive liberation and resource-building transform existing social movements, igniting protests around new demands.

Framing of social protest news in Web portals in Chile and Colombia during 2019

PurposeLate in 2019, massive protest demonstrations rocked both Chile and Colombia. They were an expression of discontent with the economic model and social policies implemented in both countries in recent decades. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Chilean and Colombian news websites framed these social protests and what aspects of the social movements promoted these media to public opinion.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of this research is empirical; the authors use quantitative and discourse analysis techniques to study the news published by the top three most visited main news websites in each country and deduce the main frameworks emerging from them. After analyzing the framing of reality by media in 4,252 news items, the authors suggest that the main news portals in these Latin American countries not only portrayed the collective actions but also promoted interpretations that did not necessarily reflect the demands of the demonstrations.FindingsThe findings were that in the 2019 protests in Chile and Colombia, the media approach to collective action was not necessarily positive for the activists. This was mainly because framing in the Chilean and Colombian websites had to do with negative aspects of the movements, such as violence or economic costs.Originality/valueThe originality and value of this research is that despite the fact that there are abundant case studies on the relationship between social movements and media framing in the literature, this study adds to the current knowledge because it compares two Latin American countries and focuses on Web news portals.

The 2019–2020 Chilean anti-neoliberal uprising: A catalyst for decolonial de-monumentalization

This article analyzes the interventions of monuments that occurred in conjunction with the mass 2019–2020 anti-neoliberal protests in Chile where almost 400 monuments representing Spanish conquerors and colonial and nineteenth-century national heroes were pulled down, contested, or transformed. The article illustrates how a social movement against social injustices and inequalities enacted and engaged with decolonial repertoires of action. It analyzes two performative cases of toppled monuments to Pedro de Valdivia, the leading Spanish conqueror, in the southern cities of Concepción and Valdivia. It then examines recent debate about the anti-racist and decolonial de-monumentalization trend seen around the world and discusses some particularities of the Latin American case. It concludes by arguing that, although the monument interventions involved spontaneous and effervescent ritualistic affects, they are expressive of decolonial challenges to intertwined and long-standing national memories, calling for reconsideration of our national identities.

A Real Challenge to Neoliberal Higher Education? Assessing the Outcomes of Ten Years of Higher Education Students' Protests in Chile

In 2011, Chilean higher education students led the most massive protests in two decades demanding ‘public, free, and quality education’. The institutional consequences of the protests have not been properly studied until now. We assess students' institutional gains – in legislation, executive decisions, judicial decisions, and university policies – in all their demands related to neoliberal higher education. We show that the movement has had important successes, especially in financial terms, but the power of corporations remains mostly untouched. Contradicting some narratives, comparable gains occurred during both the right‐wing and centre‐left administrations, highlighting the difficulties of challenging neoliberal corporate policies.

Social Media Use and Pathways to Protest Participation: Evidence From the 2019 Chilean Social Outburst

In this article, we explore the relationship between social media use and participation in protests in Chile. In October 2019, Chile faced the most massive protests since the country’s return to democracy. Due to its magnitude, the media and analysts refer to this process as the “social outburst.” Although these protests engaged broad sectors of the population, most of the protesters were young people. Using a probabilistic and face-to-face survey applied to young people aged 18-29 years, we find that the only social media platform associated with participation in protests was Facebook. Our analysis also shows the importance of the specific activities that people engage in social media. Taking part in political activities on social media is strongly associated with attending protests but using social media platforms to get information or share common interests with other users is not. Furthermore, we examine whether social media has an indirect impact on participation through interpersonal conversation. The results show that Instagram—one of the most popular social media platforms among young Chileans—spurs interpersonal conversation, which in turn increases the likelihood of participating in protests. Our findings suggest that social media still plays a role in shaping people’s political behavior despite changes in the social media environment and in social media consumption patterns.

Constructing police legitimacy during protests: frames and consequences for human rights

ABSTRACT Police legitimacy is a constructed concept. Theorists argue that legitimacy is achieved through police practices that conform to the law and societal expectations, and respect human rights. The challenge is that the distinction between acceptable and unacceptable police force requires interpretation. This article uses a qualitative frame analysis of leading Chilean newspapers to reveal how police and their supporters justified police actions in response to the massive social protests in Chile from October to December 2019. We argue that the dominant frames speakers used to explain police actions during the social uprising justified police violence as a legitimate response to a criminal threat and as consistent with police protocols and the law. While reasserting police legitimacy, the frames delegitimise claims of human rights abuses (often explicitly) and shift the dominant public conversation away from discussions of broader public security and public order reforms that could better reduce police violence. Such frames reveal the tensions between police legitimacy and human rights protections, and the power of state and civil society voices elevated in the media to challenge the latter.

Echoes from the Global South: Reflections on the Student Public Intellectual, Hashtags and Neoliberal Themes in the #FeesMustFall Student Protests in South Africa (2015–2016)

The student protests in South Africa (2015–2016) reflected multiple dimensions of the crisis in higher education. These included epistemic, economic, political, psychological and social dimensions, raising serious concerns about the social compact in a post-1994 South Africa. What I examine through an eclectic approach which incorporates a first-person methodology and critical discourse analysis are the nuances and meanings that surfaced when students captured specific events and then articulated the events and the unfolding experiences in a vocabulary that provided a translation for their emotions and pain. This was done by the students by both linking and challenging protest hashtags or referencing texts that had only recently become accessible to them. As they learnt, they shared, and as they shared they realised that there were others experiencing similar challenges, such as the student protests in Chile (2011–2012). Sharing experiences is an act of solidarity and the benefits of solidarity strengthened the language needed to articulate what the students encountered in specific moments. I show that the South African students echoed issues that were found in the higher education protests in Chile, whilst also drawing lines in the sand with regards to the challenges in their own lived context. What is most significant for me is that in both the South African and Chilean protests an interesting phenomenon is evident that has not been acknowledged—this is the rise of the student-academic public intellectual. This paper highlights these developments to challenge the narrative of “uncivilised” and violent black students by contextualising and animating their articulations, questions and their understanding of the ideology and system that was suffocating them.

Raising the Red Flag: Democratic Elitism and the Protests in Chile

The recent surge of global populism has led many intellectuals to call for new forms of democratic elitism. Yet research into the sources of support for political organizations and regimes predicts that suppressing opportunities for public participation will likely exacerbate antisystem political tendencies. We cite the recent protests in Chile, a nation that has employed democratic elitism more effectively than perhaps any other, as illustrative of the eventual consequences of suppressing voice. Our research indicates that empowering citizens through vibrant parties and continuous democracy is the best way to avoid populist impulses and waves of contentious politics.

“A Rapist in Your Path”: Feminist Artivism in the Chilean Social Revolt

594 Feminist Studies 47, no. 3. © 2021 by Feminist Studies, Inc. Débora de Fina Gonzalez “A Rapist in Your Path”: Feminist Artivism in the Chilean Social Revolt It was November 20, 2019, and the streets of Chile were (literally) on fire in a generalized social revolt against the country’s neoliberal economic model, the biggest uprising since the end of dictatorship in 1990.1 On that day, a couple of women and gender dissidents took to the streets of Valparaíso, dancing to an electronic drum, with masked eyes, chanting loudly, “the rapist is you!” Pointing at the police, at the church, at the president’s house, at the judges, they collectively denounced the institutional violence against women and sexual and gender dissidents that is endorsed and practiced by the state, with a simple choreography and a potent set of lyrics.2 These performers were responding to a call by the interdisciplinary collective Las Tesis, formed by four young artists—Sibila Sotomayor, Lea Cáceres, Daffne Valdés, and Paula Cometa—all of them recent graduates of the University of Valparaíso. Because of the growing unrest and violence in many cities, the country was under “constitutional emergency status,” and Las Tesis was not able to present their play in a theater , as initially planned. So, they decided to adapt the performance to 1. A documentary titled “Chile in Flammen” (Chile in flames), about the street protests in Chile, can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5im9 2x9yK3w. 2. A video of the first performance of “A Rapist in Your Path” in Valparaíso can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sbcU0pmViM&t=20s. News and Views 595 a form that could be presented collectively in a public space, joining the ongoing social upheaval. To do so, they put the word out on social networks , calling women and gender dissidents to perform “Un violador en tu camino” (A rapist in your path), which was inspired by the feminist theorizing of authors Rita Segato and Silvia Frederici. In a clear synergy between feminist theory, art, and activism, the performance offers the possibility of critique and denunciation in women’s own voices, based on their shared experiences. Through the performance, the broader outraged chorus of the Chilean social revolt also becomes feminist. Five days later, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the performance was replicated in a massive event in the capital, Santiago, attended by more than 2000 people.3 A week later, it was staged again by Las Tesis Senior in front of the National Stadium , which brought together older women who had experienced the violence perpetrated in the dictatorial period.4 In a few days, the performance traveled rapidly through social networks and turned into a contemporary feminist anthem chanted in chorus all over the country and translated, appropriated, and adapted to different contexts and languages by women in diverse circumstances around the world.5 Background and context of the emergence of Las Tesis Chile has experienced important processes of social and political transformation throughout the last two decades. Since the student mobilizations in 2006 and 2011, which marked the renewed prominence of a “generation without fear,” there has been a resurgence of popular 3. Performance of “A Rapist in Your Path,” in Santiago, Chile, November 25, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB7r6hdo3W4 4. A group of women over 40 years of age join to perform “A Rapist in Your Path” in front of the former detention and torture center of the military dictatorship, on December 4, 2019. See video at https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=Tk10XBMJkdU. 5. “A Rapist in Your Path” has been performed in more than 52 countries on 5 continents and translated into more than 20 languages, including sign language and languages of native peoples. This map shows all the cities where the performances have been carried out: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/es/map /un-violador-en-tu-camino-20192021-actualizado -al-2_394247#3/-13.84/-119.09. Las Tesis were recognized among the 100 most influential personalities of 2020 by Time magazine, https://time.com /collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888485...

Sztuka uliczna jako źródło wiedzy na temat współczesnych społeczeństw – propozycja i weryfikacja metody badawczej

Street art as a source of knowledge about contemporary societies – a proposal of a research method and its verification The article’s main aim is to present and verify the research approach that can be implemented in street art research in the field of social communication and media science. By focusing analysis on four dimensions – space (where), temporality (when), representation (who) and message (what), it is possible to obtain comprehensive knowledge about key social actors, propagated ideas, postulates and values, and to delineate the main dividing lines, points of reference, icons and symbolic characters. We treat street art as a form of socio-political commentary at the local level, urban space as a channel, and individual manifestations of street art as a medium of communication. The methodological proposal’s usefulness will be verified based on a corpus of 195 photos showing various forms of street art created during the protests in Chile, taken by the Authors in December 2019.

Relative Poverty and Consumption Inequality Behind Massive Protests in Chile

Relative Poverty and Consumption Inequality Behind Massive Protests in Chile

Protests and Public Space Surveillance: From Metadata Tracking to Facial Recognition Technologies

Protest movements are gaining momentum across the world, with Extinction Rebellion, ‘Black Lives Matter, and strong pro-democracy protests in Chile and Hong Kong taking centre stage. Yet many governments have implemented various measures that severely impair the right to protest, especially during crises, like the global COVID-19 pandemic. In this submission to the Thematic Report to the 50th Session of the Human Rights Council, I draw attention to several issues: • The role of metadata tracking and data retention laws in suppressing political protests around the world; • The chilling effect of facial recognition technologies used in public spaces on the right to peaceful assembly and protest, and the absence of oversight mechanisms or adequate safeguards in many countries around the world; • The role of private actors in assisting governments to curtail protests; and the insufficiency of the international human rights legal framework to ensure the protection of human rights by private actors.

The role of women’s dressing in the current social activist movement in Chile (2019–20)

In the context of the current protests in Chile, women are more empowered than they have been in previous years; they dare to protest freely in the streets to express themselves and demand their rights. They enhance their political message through their bodies by wearing accessories such as blindfolds or hoods. They have transformed these objects into symbols of protest. Women protesting with bare torsos or wearing only bras are some of the meaningful ways that some women are currently expressing themselves politically in Chile. These dress/undressed objects are more than simple pieces of fabric: they express political dissent and women’s vulnerability. This article will consider the role and significance that women’s dressing plays in the current Chilean social movement from different perspectives. This research will analyse clothing through case studies on three women – María, Rosa and Almendra – who belong to feminist collectives that have actively participated in the recent protests in Santiago de Chile. The interviews conducted were anonymized, so fictitious names are presented. María belongs to a collective that carries out performances related to liberation through dance and acting. Rosa and Almendra belong to a well-known collective who, through their characteristic red hoods and dances, express their political dissent by singing songs alluding to revolt. In all cases, textiles are a fundamental part of their characterization and identity formation. This article will ultimately argue that dressing, in the context of protest, is an element of power, both in its role of granting freedom and empowering unity for a collective struggle.

Health Reform in the Midst of a Social and Political Crisis in Chile, 2019-2020

ABSTRACT The protests in Chile in October 2019 raised the issue of health reform to the public agenda again. This article reviews some of the explanations for why there was a widespread protest, including the expectations of continued progress, the emergence of a “fear-based populism” and the decline in legitimacy of most social and political actors. Using the theories of Kingdon to explain how reforms are placed on the political agenda, we describe how the protests raised health reform as a problem to be addressed, discuss the tendency toward consensus on policy options by technical health reform advocates, and examine the uncertain political processes that would be necessary for a consensus reform to be adopted and implemented. A lesson for reformers is the need to pay attention to growing signs of popular resentment over failures of health reforms to address accumulating problems and to try to address them with urgency to avoid populist crises.