The political experience of a group of neighbors from the Pila del Ganso neighborhood, Estación Central

Abstract

In the Pila del Ganso neighbourhood in the district of Estación Central, city of Santiago, there are neighbors who feel the “shock” of the abrupt change of a valued neighbourhood lifestyle. As a result of this disruption of the course of existence, a group of neighbors decided to organize themselves in 2014 with the aim of defending their neighbourhood against an intense process of verticalization. This article aims to analyze the development of this experience, highlighting its affective and moral dimension, as well as its ambivalent and contradictory character; dimensions that have tended to be ignored in studies of urban movements in Chile. Focusing specifically on the processes of politicization, the article seeks to delve into the way in which neighbors mobilize the figure of neighbour in the midst of complex processes and daily events that pushes them, at times, in contradictory directions.