Social rebellion in the city Notes on political significations of Chilean October

Abstract

This essay proposes some notes on the political significations of the social rebellion which occurred
in several Chilean cities on October 18th, 2019. It is argued that the current scenario of mobilizations
represents a reaction to the historical process of neoliberalization of Chilean society. Among the most
important characteristics of this rebellion is the diversification of the political uses of urban space and
the subaltern reappropriation of the social articulation of the city. This process intensifies and extends
the social conflict resulting from the deepening of the contradictions of capital accumulation’s pattern
imposed by the civic-military Dictatorship, and shows the exhaustion of the subsidiary State and semisovereign democracy. Based on an analysis of the political climate, complemented by the description
of the main cycles of social mobilizations in urban space since the second half of the 20th century, it is
argued that the current social rebellion partially evidences the breakdown of the neoliberal consensus,
the politicization of the social and the strengthening local power in the cities. It is concluded that the
novelty of social rebellion relies on the intensity, breadth and diversification of forms and contents of the
political exercise of diverse social and territorial sectors.