Chile has a proud tradition of protests, but the unrest of 2019 was different. More than a million people took to the streets to protest their nation’s vast inequality. The uprising made international news, unseated a neoliberal dictatorship, and led to the election of a new president—but did it also create lasting change? Chilean historian Marcelo Casals catches us up on the latest developments in Chile’s battle against neoliberalism.

Marcelo Casals is an independent scholar based in Santiago. He holds a PhD in Latin American history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and recently wrote an article for Dissent Magazine titled, ‘The End of Neoliberalism in Chile?’

Twitter: @Palquelea

The End of Neoliberalism in Chile? https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-end-of-neoliberalism-in-chile 

Gabriel Boric: From student protest leader to Chile’s president: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-59694056

‘Chile Woke Up’: Dictatorship’s Legacy of Inequality Triggers Mass Protests: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/world/americas/chile-protests.html 

The texture piece is from 2019 and is courtesy of Gustavo de la Piedra, a listener from Santiago, Chile. The news clips are sourced from the news station France 24. 

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