La Victoria Comprometida: Reflections on Neoliberalism from a Santiago Población

Abstract

The marketing of neoliberalism in Chile has been premised on a sanitized view of history, erasure of collective memory, and erroneous claims of reason. This article examines neo-liberalism in Chile from the perspective of La Victoria, a working-class Santiago población, with a rich history of activism. The author shows how residents have been impacted by both economic policies and state violence, and how they have contested dominant ideology, neoliberal practices, and their problematic perspectives on time, memory, and reason. Victorianos reject collective amnesia and bring a moral imperative grounded in social justice to bear in constructing an alternative common sense.

Citation

Finn, J.L. (2006), "La Victoria Comprometida: Reflections on Neoliberalism from a Santiago Población", Dannhaeuser, N. and Werner, C. (Ed.) Markets and Market Liberalization: Ethnographic Reflections (Research in Economic Anthropology, Vol. 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 207-239. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-1281(05)24007-6