Protest Issues and Political Inequality in Latin America

Abstract

Many studies reveal that socioeconomic resources increase protest participation, lending more political voice to the affluent and reinforcing preexisting political inequality. But existing studies ignore whether this holds across different protest issues. We argue that some issues reinforce political inequality, while other ones do not. We differentiate between survival protests—in which people react to direct threats to their material and social survival—and furtherance protests—which press authorities to make policy changes that seek to improve some aspect of society. Regression models with Latin American survey data show that people with higher socioeconomic status are overrepresented in furtherance protests, by implication reinforcing preexisting political inequality. However, survival protests attract people socioeconomically similar to national averages, contributing to a more balanced political field. Our results emphasize the need to reconsider the place of issues in the study of protest participation, political inequality, and political behavior in general.

A longitudinal examination of the factors that facilitate and hinder support for conservative and progressive social movements

“…Notably, this rising level of support for progressive change was already incubating within the population and reached fruition in the social outbreak that occurred in 2019, known as “Chile Despertó”. The observed trends in the longitudinal panel data clearly indicate that Chilean society, at large, gradually distanced itself from conservative social movements and began to embrace a more progressive agenda for social change (González et al., 2020; González & Le Foulon Morán, 2020; Pozzi et al., 2022; Somma et al., 2020).…”

“…Despite conservative social movements and began to embrace a more progressive agenda for social change González & Le Foulon Morán, 2020;Pozzi et al, 2022;Somma et al, 2020).…”

“…Hence, the data collection coincided with an historical period in which Chilean society experienced major political upheaval (González et al, 2016;Somma et al, 2020). This upheaval was seemingly caused by a long-standing clash between progressive and conservative values in Chile.…”

“…Crucially, Chilean society has long debated the need to reform the conservative dictatorship‐era Supreme law by including constitutional amendments concerned with progressive issues including women's rights, environmental protection, and indigeneity (Bonnefoy, 2020). Hence, the data collection coincided with an historical period in which Chilean society experienced major political upheaval (González et al., 2016; Somma et al., 2020). This upheaval was seemingly caused by a long‐standing clash between progressive and conservative values in Chile.…”

“…The current study was conducted in Chile, a Latin American country that continues to experience political transformation through demonstrations and social protests (Chayinska et al., 2021; Contreras et al., 2016; González & Le Foulon Morán, 2020; González et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2019; Smith et al., 2021). During the time of data collection (2016–2019), several social movements echoed the concerns of left‐leaning voters such as inequality, educational reform, indigenous rights, the need to overturn conservative economic policies, and gender emancipation (e.g., Smith et al., 2019; Smith et al., 2021; Somma et al., 2020). The social mobilization of left‐leaning grassroots organizations opposed the policies of the conservative government led by President Sebastián Piñera.…”