Pro-dictatorship memorialization in democratic Chile (1990–2020): How is it maintained?

Abstract

The article examines the combinations of conditions that explain the maintenance of pro-dictatorship memorialization in democratic Chile, where various pro-dictatorship memory sites, memorials, squares, and street names still positively commemorate the military dictatorship or associated elements (1973–1990). The study used four main explanatory factors and subjected them to a Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The procedure revealed that, in Chile, pro-dictatorship memory sites are maintained through two main paths. On one hand, “Walls” (veto players) block elimination demands and guarantee the pro-dictatorship sites’ maintenance. On the other hand, it is the combination of “Silence” (absence of human rights organizations denouncing the site) and “Local and/or Institutional Support” (protection granted by local communities or state agencies) that explain the maintenance of pro-dictatorship memorialization. These results reflect a unique sociological attempt to understand the phenomenon of pro-dictatorship legacies and their permanence in democracy.