Abstract
This chapter studies the changes in the relations between social movements and institutional politics in contemporary Chile. It is argued that the increase in collective protest during the last decade partially stems from an ongoing process of detachment of movements from political institutional actors. Disappointed by the absence of reforms that challenge the structures of Chile’s market society, activists have mobilized resources with little help from institutional actors and reacted to the perceived deficiencies of government policies. The chapter then goes on to compare the influential student movement and the less influential Mapuche movement. It is showed that movements are more likely to shape political outcomes if they can launch massive protest campaigns in visible locations with a predominance of disruptive yet peaceful tactics.
We thank Sofía Donoso and Marisa von Bülow for their helpful and detailed comments. We also thank Tania Manríquez and Daniela Paz Jacob for superb research assistance with the interviews. We appreciate the support of three grants from CONICYT Chile: CONICYT/FONDECYT/Iniciación/11121147; the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (COES) CONICYT/FONDAP/15130009; and the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (CIIR) (CONICYT-FONDAP 15110006).
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Somma, N.M., Medel, R. (2017). Shifting Relationships Between Social Movements and Institutional Politics. In: Donoso, S., von Bülow, M. (eds) Social Movements in Chile. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60013-4_2
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