Social revolt in Chile: a political counter-hegemony challenging neoliberalism?

Abstract

On 18 October 2019, Chile began the biggest political and social upheaval since the massive protests against the Pinochet dictatorship. These protests gave way to a process of impeachment of the traditional institutions of the state. In this framework, this article addresses the political dimension of the social revolt and its scope in the constituent itinerary that was agreed on 15 November 2019. It seeks to answer the question of whether the great mass movement was the expression of a political counter-hegemony that challenged the neoliberal common sense. To do so, it draws on the main theoretical currents that question the fit between democracy and neoliberalism, especially Chantal Mouffe's agonistic proposal of the populist moment. In practical terms, it analyses, on the basis of past political and electoral behavior, two cleavages that could be identified with the emergence of the populist moment, that of elite/people and parties/independents. From the analysis of the electoral data of the last thirty years and put in relation to the results of the 2021 election of the members of the Constituent Convention, it is concluded that the expression of weariness is faithfully expressed in the two cleavages that define the populist moment. In addition, there is a strengthening of the various political forces that see themselves as anti-neoliberal.