Abstract

CONTRERAS-AGUIRRE, Gonzalo  and  MORALES-QUIROGA, Mauricio. Young people and electoral participation in Chile 1989-2013. Analyzing the effect of the voluntary vote. Rev.latinoam.cienc.soc.niñez juv [online]. 2014, vol.12, n.2, pp.597-615. ISSN 1692-715X.  https://doi.org/10.11600/1692715x.1226100414.

According to its promoters, the adoption of the voluntary vote in Chile would produce an increase in electoral participation and a greater involvement of the young in politics. However, the results of the last presidential elections evidenced quite the contrary. Participation was reduced to historic levels and the young continue to be the group with least predisposition to vote. In a country where poverty has shrunk, but the levels of inequality have remained virtually unchanged, the introduction of the voluntary vote has deepened not only the age bias, but also the so-called class bias in the vote. That is, the people with the highest income vote more than the ones with the lowest income. We tested these hypotheses with individual data from the opinion polls by the Universidad Diego Portales (UDP) and with electoral data broken down to the communal level.

Keywords : political participation; youth participation; elections; young people.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )