Social protests, neoliberalism and democratic institutions in Chile

Abstract

ABSTRACT 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.