We had it coming… October 18 2019 social outburst in Chile and perceived conflict per territory

Abstract

The constitution of a social order necessarily involves a spatial dimension which both produces and is produced by power relationships. Thus, the social changes that have happened in the last half century, such as
the collapse of a unitary model of development, would also have an impact in the construction of a territory and the way power relationships are inscribed on it. Using the example of Santiago de Chile and the social outburst of October 18, 2019, this text uses the conflict dimension of a broader doctoral project, to focus on how perception of conflict might vary among the zones of Santiago. An analysis of the items involved, which were previous to the social explosion, shows significant differences between the Eastern section of the
city and the rest of it, with the latter showing a greater perception of conflict. These differences can be read from Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical apparatus as differences between the doxa and illusio of each territory and be associated to the construction of Otherness towards the inhabitants of the other sections of
the city and the perceived stigmas that come with some places of residence, as well as with a different construction of both conflict resolution and the struggle for capital.