What happened on the 18th of October, 2019? It is probably still too early to draw a definitive characterization of what really began that day, but one thing seems clear: the social and political life of Chile was forever changed that day. On October 18th, the largest, most intense, and most extensive mobilizations exploded in that country.
Perhaps a metaphor that best accounts for the Chilean October would be a volcanic eruption: magmatic forces that are not observable to the naked eye until their pressure becomes unsustainable, emerging to the surface in an overwhelming and highly destructive manner. However, volcanic eruptions possess at the same time an enormous modeling and creative capacity, reconfiguring the political landscapes around them, and their sediment, once stabilized, fertilizes areas that grow new scenarios.
On October 18th, an explosion was born, an uncontainable force that was shocking in its intensity and size, but the forces that prompted this eruption always existed, lurking underground. In fact, several explanations have been given for its origin: inequality, abuse, a lack of democracy and of rights. A spray-painted slogan near the now-renamed Dignity Plaza suggested: “Neoliberalism was born and will die in Chile.”
