The repertoire of political action in the cycle of chilean student mobilizations

Abstract

This article analyzes the forms of political action taken by young university students who participated in the cycle of student mobilizations that arose in Chile in 2011. To this end, a descriptive and analytical design based on open interviews and qualitative analysis was implemented. The work carried out involved participants from different forms of organization in the cities of Valparaiso, Santiago and Concepción. The results revealed three forms of political action -expressive action, confrontational action and violent action- and two modes of relationship and communication -the influence of new information technologies and the modes of the youths’ horizontal organization. It is concluded that the novelty of the action repertoire of the young university students lies in its characteristic as an " event”.