The city in dispute. Space and urban sociability during the "hunger marches" (Santiago, 1918-1919)

Abstract

From urban history, this paper studies the popular protests that took place between 1918 and 1919 in Santiago of Chile. From a documentary analysis of written press, legislative sessions, books, and publications of the period, we examined the Chilean capital’s spaces and ways of sociability that shaped the "hunger marches". We propose that this situation not only evidenced the unequal ways of life of its inhabitants, but also transformed the city into a disputed object. Thus, the workers appropriated Santiago and crossed its streets demanding socio-political rights, acts that the Chilean oligarchy interpreted as a threat to the social order, reacting in its defense.