On 18 October 2019, Chile felt the first tremors of a social crisis that would rock the country over the coming months. Although those in power refer to the uprising only in terms of disorder and violence, a study published by the authors in March 2020 (available in Spanish here) found that the events kindled hope for a better future among people the length of the nation. However, conversations with the same individuals several months into the COVID-19 pandemic reveal that this hope is now waning. The less well-off have found themselves once again in a position of “few prospects, torn between religious optimism that God will provide and fear that things will only get worse.” The term el pueblo (“the people”), used to evoke the nation’s shared identity during the uprising, has once again fallen out of regular usage, and the authors noted acute concern among middle-strata people of losing their social status, expressed, for example, in fear of having to choose less expensive or even free education for their children.
In this article, we explore the emotions and attitudes of Chilean people during the COVID-19 crisis, focusing on the changes that have occurred since the uprising that began on 18 October 2019, known to Chileans as 18/O. Many were quick to associate the outbreak of violence with a sudden 30-peso increase in Santiago’s metro fare, although in reality, the price hike was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The phrase “it’s not about 30 pesos, it’s about 30 years” was echoed nationwide as Chileans vented their resentment towards the economic model implemented under the Pinochet dictatorship and the stark inequality that it has generated. Iron-hard convictions and intense emotions were much in evidence during street protests that swept the country, heedless of violent repression by the authorities. We were interested in finding out whether people’s feelings and opinions expressed in the wake of 18/O have been redefined, replaced or in any way diminished by the pandemic.
Although many explanations of the causes and consequences of 18/O take into account the rational or strategic motivations of social and political actors, emotions are of particular relevance to social crises (Elster, 2010). Our aim was therefore to explore the effect of the pandemic on Chilean society in light of the rapid series of changes, crises and associated emotions experienced by the nation since 2019.
