Explaining Online Activism in Latin America: 2019 Chile Protests

Image Courtesy of Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images South America

By Amaya Lena Fernandez Sampedro

In the Fall of 2019, South America witnessed the outbreak of various protests around the region. While in Ecuador, riots sparked against austerity measures by Moreno’s administration, in Bolivia, people took the street to express their discontent against President Evo Morales’ corruption during the presidential elections. In Chile, what started as a protest against the rise of metro fares quickly became a fight against inequalities and better living conditions.

In October 2019, Chile’s Transport Ministry announced that the Santiago metro would raise fares by 30 pesos; with the average Chilean’s monthly salary at $450, metro tickets’ rise represents an enormous cost. In response to the new implementation, students started organizing protests in Santiago. Soon after, the movement spread beyond students, particularly after politicians made poorly calculated comments that workers should wake up earlier for off-peak prices. But these protests do not simply denounce the fare increase; it’s about” 30 years of inequality”.

Indeed, thirty years later, the Chilean population still suffers the consequences of the Pinochet dictatorship. The implementation of free-market capitalism in the country — the government deregulated business, encouraged importation, cut social services, and privatized resources, social security, education, and healthcare — significantly weakened the economy, resulting in inflation spiralling to 374% and unemployment growing from 3% to 20%.

Pinochet reviews troops inside the presidential palace in Santiago. Source: Martin Thomas in Reuters

These reforms generated huge economic disparities in Chile. Elites gained wealth, while more than 45% of the population fell below the poverty line by 1988. Even after Pinochet’s regime was defeated in 1989, Chile remains one of the most unequal, highly developed countries in the world. The increase of metro fares was, hence, received with considerable displeasure, especially among students.

However, these protests introduced something never seen before in Chile; the immense use of social media to organize and diffuse the social movement beyond Santiago and even beyond the country.

According to a report by InvestChile, as of 2018, there were an estimated 12 million — 70% of the population — 4G users alone, making Chile the most interconnected Latin American country. Additionally, over 80% of Chileans have at least one social media account. Therefore, it is not a surprise the movement became so widely shared on social media.

The emergent use of online activism to condemn leading political figures’ actions has become common worldwide. In Latin America, social media has been welcomed by most of the population as many country’s leaders own the press. Indeed, various accusations of corruption around the region have built high mistrust expressed by the people towards their leaders. Through social media, protesters can express their opinion freely without fear of being censored. As a Chilean TV reporter attempted to interview protesters heading towards Santiago’s demonstration, one young girl shouted directly into the camera: “Turn off your televisions, the media lie! Get your information from social media!” Activism on social media has also been a great tool to spread issues beyond borders. Numerous recent social conflicts — such as Arab Springs conflicts, the “Gilet Jaune” in France, or the riots in Hong Kong — became known after sharing images, videos, and tweets on the internet.

The popularity of online activism to organize protests and spread their messages has developed a new trend of leaderless rebellions. According to the Financial Times, “In Lebanon, France and Chile, authorities have searched in vain for ringleaders. Messaging services that offer end-to-end encryption — such as Telegram — are hard to spy on and are very popular. Facebook groups and Twitter allow amorphous protest movements to crowdsource ideas and articulate grievances”. Social media has not only enabled Chile’s protesters to organize themselves better because there are no clear leaders of the demonstrations that spontaneously broke out in the country this week, but also because there is no single cause that unites them.”

“La misma mierda, distinto olor!!” Source: @Ordep/Instagram. Image used with author’s consent

Sometimes social activism gets creative, taking the form of collage arts. This kind of art was first used in Chile in the 1980s by the Chilean artist and poet Guillermo Deisler to denounce abuses committed by Pinochet’s regime. Forty years later, the Instagram page @CollageChile exposes the collage of different Chilean activists to condemn the corruption and the abuses of President Sebastian Pinera. In La misma mierda, distinto colour by @ordeph, Pinochet’s military junta images are mixed with images of contemporary politicians. Piñera’s face is positioned next to Pinochet’s, their faces connected by a bold red intestinal shape. Chile’s past is digested and blended with the present to link the past’s authoritarian leaders with today’s politicians. Social media have taken these arts further by connecting more people. Artists have responded with collages and art to challenge Pinñera’s narrative of the protests.

Additionally, Social media also allows a movement in one place to take inspiration from another revolt. Social movements find ways to identify with each other, sometimes even using the same symbols of further protests. In Chile, they used the symbolic yellow jacket that characterized the social protests in France to denounce inequalities.

Women sing and perform during the demonstration and performance of ‘Un Violador en Tu Camino’ organized by feminist group Lastesis on November 29, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. Source: Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images

Moreover, Las Zetas’ dance “A Rapist in your path” is another symbolic event during the Chile Protests that was replicated worldwide. The feminist group’s song and choreography denounce sexual harassment Chilean women experienced by police officers. The song went viral with the help of social media; being reenacted by feminist groups beyond borders — in Paris, London, Buenos Aires, and even in the University of California in Santa Barbara. The popularity of these dance moves demonstrates the power social media hold on putting pressure on different elite groups in Chile.

Finally, with COVID-19, digital media have proved that online activism is not limited to time and space. The protests in Chile didn’t end when people couldn’t go in the street anymore. Protesters still find creative ways to express their discontent against Piñera’s administration. Before the pandemic, Paloma Rodriguez protested by painting politically charged street art; in March 2020, she created a virtual mural shared by thousands through social media to criticize the government’s actions. Others turned to more traditional ways of protesting, such as the “Cacerolazo” every Friday at 9 pm to demand those jailed to be released on house arrest. Finally, some had the idea to project protest movements on the wall of a home. On March 292020, Coordinadora 8M projected images of protesters and state repression victims onto the buildings throughout Santiago.

Social media have proved to be an effective tool against the government’s control of mainstream media. While it gives freedom of speech and allows movements to spread beyond frontiers, users still need to be careful, though, of the growing appearance of fake news on internet platforms. Even though people use social media because they don’t trust their leaders, it would be unfortunate to stop trusting the internet news.

Amaya Lena Fernandez Sampedro is a third-year International Relations student at King's College London who is particularly keen on telling the stories of women who are positively changing Latin America. Her other research interests include the media construction of the Latinx community and Latin music.