Feminist movements and the social outburst in Chile: the time of women?

Abstract

This chapter will review and analyze the case of the feminist movements in Chile and their relationship with the causes of the social outburst. As it will be examined in the following sections, these are thought of not only as social movements but also as political movements, since besides making demands and putting pressure on political powers, they also imply profound changes on an institutional level. These changes require to be analyzed from traditional frameworks, but especially from new frameworks that allow for problematization and a reconfiguration of the relationship between movements, institutions, and the democratic system. Mainly, the chapter sets out to analyze some of the contemporary changes taking place in institutions, in the norms and the rules of engagement, drawing from the social dynamics themselves and from the feminist movements that have historically pushed for change in the Chilean institutionality. This allows for a demonstration of how societal shifts in gender lead to the current political process in Chile, with an impending constitutional change.