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MISMA LUCHA, DISTINTOS OBJETIVOS: ESTRATEGIAS TERRITORIALES POR EL DERECHO A LA CIUDAD EN DOS CAMPAMENTOS DE TEMUCO, CHILE
IGNACIO BONDIS-LUNA, FÉLIX ROJO-MENDOZA, MIGUEL ESCALONA ULLOA
REVISTA URBANO Nº 49 / MAYO 2024 - OCTUBRE 2024
PÁG. 52 - 61
ISSN 0717 - 3997 / 0718 - 3607
I. INTRODUCTION
The concept of urban marginalization appears due to a
systematic relegation or exclusion of certain groups or
communities outside what is known as the urban center.
In this context, historical spatial marginalization has
negatively impacted the urban social fabric, precipitating
territorial stigmatization (Abufhele, 2019). This
phenomenon is derived from not only the accumulation
of poverty but also the presence of a punishing and
absent State (Wacquant, 2015; Perlman & Delgadillo, 2019),
exacerbated by the negative perception of these sectors
transmitted by the media and academia (Ruiz-Tagle,
Álvarez & Labbé, 2023).
However, its residents build alternative narratives and
meanings about the city (Pérez, 2019) by establishing,
among other things, informal economies to meet their
needs (Aceska et al., 2019) and self-management to
mitigate their marginalized situation (Pino & Ojeda,
2013; Cortés, 2014; Castañeda & Hernández, 2021;
Moreno, 2021). In this sense, the active participation of
residents in urbanization and the defense of their rights
have promoted legitimate and participatory territorial
governance models (Wigle, 2014), where the informal
habitat they occupy represents a variant to build the city
(Pino & Ojeda, 2013).
In this context, although irregular encampments, or
informal settlements comprising precarious housing and
without essential services, represent a spatial expression of
urban marginalization in Chile, they have a rich history of
organizing and fighting for the right to the city (Moreno,
2021). In this line, some studies mention that the residents
of these spaces act as active agents in the transformation
of their territories to be part of the city despite the
emerging vulnerabilities, job insecurity, and personal
and family challenges they face (Castillo, 2014; Imilán
et al., 2020). However, the political strategies employed
by the irregular occupants of diverse urban spaces
vary considerably, adapting to each group’s particular
circumstances and objectives.
This article examines the occupation and spatial
governance strategies used in two camps in Temuco, Chile,
using the social cartography technique applied to leaders
of irregular occupations. Although these encampments
or camps are located contiguously and emerged during
the same period (2019-2020), each exhibits a unique and
differentiated self-management policy in addressing the
central challenges they face regarding housing and the
right to the city. According to Lefebvre (1969), the latter is
understood as the right to participate democratically in the
production and administration of urban spaces, allowing
a deeper exploration of how these communities actively
seek to get involved and exert influence over their urban
and housing environments. With this in mind, the article
aims to contribute to the discussion on urban marginality,
considering the reflections, strategies, and projections used
by the “excluded” to win the right to live in the city.
II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Encampments in Chile and State Action
The Chilean State has designed different strategies to
address irregular settlements, which paradoxically have
often intensified the original challenge. The first effort
was the Workers’ Housing Law of 1906, which aimed to
stimulate the construction of affordable and healthy
housing. However, this law ended up encouraging the illegal
occupation of land in the urban peripheries due to the
chronic inability to cover the demand for housing (Hidalgo,
2010).
During Pinochet’s military regime (1973-1990), housing
policies adopted a neoliberal orientation, marked by the
elimination of taxes and the liberalization of urban land.
The market was considered the optimal agent for allocating
urban uses (Sabatini, 2000). This increased land value in the
consolidated central areas, making the periphery a viable
option for low-income families and housing policies seeking
more affordable land (Ducci, 1997).
With the return to democracy in 1990, Chile’s housing
policies maintained their neoliberal nature, but
focused on reducing the housing deficit and irregular
settlements. Despite a notable decrease in the deficit
and an increase in homeownership, the preference for
quantity over quality resulted in the construction of low-
quality housing in peripheral areas with limited access
to services and employment. This situation motivated
the initial beneficiaries of these policies to leave their
homes, generating two patterns of displacement: towards
areas with cheaper land and leases (Tant, 2017; Fuster-
Farfán et al., 2023) and better-located areas in the city, in
search of personal and family progress, which rejects the
stigmatization that living in social housing often entails
(Brain et al., 2010).
However, despite the Chilean State’s efforts to reduce the
housing deficit and avoid the presence of encampments
in different cities, the emergence of irregular occupations
remains a reality. Although policies are associated with
the camps, they still focus mainly on providing housing,
neglecting the dynamics of the social construction of the
space (Matus et al., 2019). This is essential to address, for