The theoretical construction of social movements in Chile: The pobladores movement between Sociology and Social History

Abstract

This article analyzes the confrontation between a sociological perspective which denied the existence of the pobladores movement and the New History stream which recognized the popular role in the fight against the dictatorship and the democratizing potential of the actions deployed by the pobladores. The hypothesis defended is that the theoretical construction of the social movement involves a way of understanding the social actors and social transformation that has effects -at a certain level- on the own processes of struggle. Thus, the denial of the pobladores movement, as a theoretical conclusion, justified the political exclusion of the pobladores and their claims from the design of the transition to "democracy", while the assertion of the popular role sought to enhance the democratizing possibilities contained in the pobladores' struggles.