Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Unlike in other South American countries, resistance to neoliberalism in Chile was delayed, and frequently isolated and discontinuous. The formal ending of military dictatorship in 1989 left a series of problems to solve, and debate was limited to political slogans and pamphlets. During the first post-dictatorial years, the parties leading the transitional process concentrated on establishing cross-sectional consensus and agreements to create a democratic system according to their own interpretation. They were very timid and remained trapped by the authoritarian remnants of the previous regime. The experience of the so-called transition accumulated a series of contradictory elements which could be characterized as a form of democratic formalism, filled with consensuses and, apparently, good will. The whole process could be better described not as a transition without ruptures, but rather a hiding of silent agreements with the former dictatorship. This situation was and still is reflected by a media avalanche creating the image and feeling that something is happening and at the same time hiding the “banalization” of the present. This form of democratic formalism appears as a kind of censorship. This censorship, nevertheless, as an inevitable feature of the transition to democracy, had a deeper aim; namely, erasing the memory of the military abuse, and reducing the conflicts and debates ... log in or subscribe to read full text