Stigmatization of the Poor in Chile: the Construction of the flaites Category

Abstract

This article presents the results of a sociological research on the label flaites used in Chile to name certain groups within the popular classes characterized by their extravagant clothing and criminal behavior. This label, which first appears in Chile in the 1990s, reflects the evolution of the popular sectors, but also the amplification of feelings of social insecurity associated with neoliberal transformations promoted in Chile and in the world several decades ago. The article uses a qualitative methodology based on interviews and discussion groups. It analyzes the meanings associated with this word and its role in the construction of the figure of the criminal as an internal enemy in this society. The article shows that the flaite is not only stigmatized for its alleged dangerousness, but it is also used to draw moral boundaries and establish differentiations between “good” and “bad” poor.