Abstract

In 2019, student protests over an increase in subway fare in Chile escalated into violence and a leaderless nationwide social upheaval. This research note takes a descriptive approach that goes beyond the protester/non-protesters dichotomy, because we believe we need a richer understanding of the what, who, and how of citizens around this outbreak. Based on a survey fielded amidst the upheaval, we distinguish protesters by intensity, and non-protesters by their position towards the upheaval. As expected, protesters tend to be young and educated. Strong protesters are more left-wing, interested in politics, and more participative, including electorally. They endorse democracy but are critical of its functioning, and more likely to justify illegal/violent actions as a means for social change. Inequality appears as a cross-cutting concern, even among opponents, but strong protesters are more distrustful of its sources and of the rich themselves. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings. En 2019, las protestas estudiantiles por un aumento en la tarifa del metro en Chile devinieron en violencia y una agitaci & oacute;n social a nivel nacional. Este estudio adopta un enfoque descriptivo porque creemos que necesitamos una mejor comprensi & oacute;n del qu & eacute;, qui & eacute;n y c & oacute;mo de los ciudadanos en torno al estallido. Usando datos de una encuesta realizada en medio del estallido, distinguimos a los manifestantes por intensidad y a quienes no protestaron por su opini & oacute;n sobre el estallido. Los manifestantes fuertes tienden a ser j & oacute;venes y educados, m & aacute;s de izquierda, m & aacute;s interesados y participativos en pol & iacute;tica, incluso electoralmente. Respaldan la democracia pero critican su funcionamiento y es m & aacute;s probable que justifiquen acciones ilegales/violentas como medio para el cambio social. La desigualdad aparece como una preocupaci & oacute;n transversal, incluso entre los opositores, pero los manifestantes fuertes desconf & iacute;an m & aacute;s de sus fuentes y de los propios ricos. Concluimos discutiendo las implicancias de estos hallazgos.