Abstract

SANTOS, Marcelo  and  ALLENDES, Jorge Valdebenito. Social Uprising and Conservative Awakening: Anti-Democratic Tactics and Digital Counteroffensive in Chile. rev.estud.soc. [online]. 2025, n.94, pp.45-63.  Epub Oct 23, 2025. ISSN 0123-885X.  https://doi.org/10.7440/res94.2025.03.

This article analyzes the radicalization of conservative political positions in Chile following the outbreak of the 2019 social uprising-what we call the conservative awakening. In the face of a crisis triggered by what appeared to be the imminent advance of progressive forces during and in the first years after the uprising, conservative sectors regained strength by adopting both previously employed repertoires of action and new, innovative strategies to defend their interests. In particular, this study focuses on the self-preservation tactics of political and economic elites through the use of anti-democratic digital repertoires of action, such as the inorganic amplification of support for causes and individuals, the sabotage and intimidation of their opponents’ political coordination groups, and the spread of disinformation on digital platforms. Through a review of recent studies on the subject, the analysis reveals the path leading to the concept of conservative awakening, which rests on both political and socio- technical dimensions. It argues that these tactics function as mechanisms of defense and even reversal of social and value-based gains from a progressive perspective. The phenomenon is understood as a counteroffensive against the expansion of the political and social concessions threshold that seemed imminent during the period under study (2019-2022), as Chile confronted the social fractures exposed by the uprising.

Keywords : Chile; conservatism; disinformation; extremism; social media; social uprising.

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