Why Chile “Woke Up.” Antecedents of the Formation of Prochange Group Consciousness Promoting Collective Action

Abstract

In October 2019, student protests in Chile quickly expanded into a mobilization of more than three million citizens, who protested for nearly a year and successfully brought about sociopolitical change. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the social‐psychological processes behind the Chile despertó, we analyze the protests using the group‐consciousness model. The model assumes that collective action is fuelled by a sense of belonging to a group formed around the unifying idea of sociopolitical change through a new constitution, anger at the current status quo, and a belief that protesters can work together to effect the desired change. Data from over 700 Chileans collected in May 2020 indicate that (1) group consciousness is an important construct related to participation in collection action, (2) the main predictors of the group consciousness of Chile despertó are perceived social inequality and unfairness of authorities, and (3) family support and left‐wing ideology are positively related to participation in collection action, which are partially mediated by group consciousness. Thus, the current study highlights unique factors that contributed to the Chile despertó and highlights the commonalities of key social‐psychological processes in collective action.