The Estallido Social (or Social Explosion) was a popular uprising in the territories occupied by the Chilean state, sparked on October 18th 2019 by a fare hike of 30 pesos. What began with a student-led campaign of transit fare evasions quickly spread into a nationwide uprising that shook society to its very foundations.
This uprising was born out of the long history of revolt in so-called Chile. Unfortunately, as participant Yza reminds us, long histories of revolt are often due to long histories of repression. Repression in these lands goes back before the formation of the Chilean state, to the Spanish invasion and conquest. But the modern era begins with the 1973 coup that installed Augusto Pinochet as dictator. Years of neoliberal reforms produced a disillusioned and disorganized working class. InterRebellium traces the roots of the 2019 uprising to the student movements of the 2000s and feminist movements of the mid 2010s, as well as through Indigenous resistance throughout the history of colonial domination. The movement also took cues and tactics from revolts happening concurrently in Hong Kong and Ecuador.
For months, thousands of people fought pitched street battles with the cops and military, organized networks of support for the front line militants, created horizontally organized neighborhood assemblies, participated in general strikes and conducted acts of arson and sabotage against symbols of power and multinational corporations.
The Estallido was ultimately contained through a combination of brutal state repression, promises of reform and a new constitution, and an aesthetic face-lift on the old symbols of power with the election of the young Gabriel Boric of the new-left. As the riots subsided and many people became willing to work within the channels of state bureaucracy, Boric and the new left were free to build coalition with the same forces that were in power before the Estallido, leaving many of the worst perpetrators of state repression in their same roles. A handful of political prisoners from the Estallido remain behind bars to this day.
