Do I see my Port? Logistic Restructuring and Production of Cognitive Boundaries in the Port of Valparaíso

The logistic restructuring of the port world of Valparaíso - historical enclave of the South Pacific maritime trade - has raised social and cultural differences, gaps and obstacles with repercussions on the projections of the city, its inhabitants and the actors of the port world. This article outlines the category of "production of cognitive boundaries" with the purpose of showing the conflict of representations involved in this restructuring process and its relevance to enable a productive dialogue between the different stakeholders.La reconversión logística del mundo portuario de Valparaíso – enclave histórico del comercio marítimo del pacífico sur – ha planteado diferendos, brechas y obstáculos de índole social y cultural que repercuten en las proyecciones de la ciudad, de sus habitantes y de los actores del mundo portuario. El presente artículo esboza la categoría de "producción de límites cognitivos" con el propósito de mostrar el conflicto de representaciones que supone este proceso de reestructuración y su relevancia para posibilitar un dialogo productivo entre las diferentes partes interesadas

Neoliberal Economic, Social, and Spatial Restructuring: Valparaíso and Its Agricultural Hinterland

The analysis of the neoliberal restructuring of Chilean port cities and their hinterland suggests there was a functional coupling of neoliberalisation, precarisation, reterritorialisation, extraction, and logistics. To address this process properly, we expanded the boundaries of our analytical scale to include not only the port city, but also its hinterland, and be able to examine the flow of commodities and labour. The analysis demonstrated that the effects of neoliberal restructuring of Valparaíso and its hinterland has had interconnected ambivalent effects. Although social and economic restructuring of agricultural hinterland and port terminals in Chile increased land and port productivity and economic competitiveness, this pattern of capitalist modernisation benefitted neither the increasing masses of temporary precarious workers in the countryside nor port cities such as Valparaíso, marked by territorial inequality, socioecological damage, urban poverty, and a growing sense of closure of the littoral and reduced access to the ocean. These negative externalities and frictions have triggered local political controversies, commercial and economic disputes, labour strikes, and urban and socio-territorial conflicts

¿Revolución, revuelta, despertar de un pueblo o “estallido social”? A un año de la crisis de octubre de 2019 en Chile

The protest movement that suddenly suspended the routine of Chileans in October 2019 - which the press called “social outburst” – is still nameless. It is an open process that produced the dislocation of the coordinates of the socio-economic and political order, as well as of the symbolic frames of the political class and its intellectuals. But the social outburst also disrupted the points of reference of social protest, especially though violence. Starting from the question about the name of the events in Chile since October 2019, this essay proposes a reflection on the facts, stories, and categories of analysis that describe what took place since those hectic days. It seeks to contribute to the clarification of the meaning, scope and potential of a movement whose ambivalence has led to very different interpretations, which oscillate between the extremes of criminalization and mystification. The essay explores the meanings of the different names used to name the events and identifies the names given to the subject of the process. Finally, we give some explanations for the apparent installation of the term “social outburst”.: El movimiento de protestas que súbitamente suspendió la rutina de los chilenos en octubre de 2019 – lo que la prensa denominó como “estallido social” – aún busca su nombre. Es un proceso abierto, que produjo la dislocación de las coordenadas del orden socioeconómico y político, de los marcos de referencia simbólicos de la clase política y sus intelectuales. Pero también de la contestación social, donde la violencia ocupa un lugar central. A partir de la pregunta por el nombre de lo que tuvo lugar en Chile desde octubre de 2019, el presente ensayo propone una reflexión en torno a los hechos, relatos, y categorías de análisis que han perfilado lo que tuvo lugar desde esos agitados días. Se busca contribuir a la clarificación del sentido, alcances y potencialidades de un movimiento cuya ambivalencia ha propiciado interpretaciones muy diferentes, que oscilan entre los extremos de la criminalización y la mistificación. Nuestra propuesta explora los significados de los diferentes apelativos utilizados para nominar los sucesos e identifica los nombres otorgados al sujeto del proceso. Finalmente, damos algunas razones para la aparente instalación del término “estallido social”