The great drought of 1968: socio-political effects and crisis of democracy in Chile

Abstract

This article aims at studying the 1968 drought as a severe climatic phenomenon associated with the political and social crisis that irrupted in Chile toward the end of that and the following decade. Based on analysis of bibliography, written press, and chronicles of Senate sessions, consideration is given to the climatic factor as a relevant aspect in the development of the political, social, and economic events of the period. We argue that the 1968 drought did not constitute an isolated climatic event that only affected agricultural production, but also acted as a precipitating element of the social and political conflicts triggered by the Agrarian Reform process, which eventually resulted in a democracy crisis in Chile during the 1970s.