Democratizing the Flows of Democracy: Patagonia Sin Represas in the Awakening of Chile’s Civil Society

Abstract

The chapter analyzes the recent history of Chilean environmentalism and of Patagonia Without Dams (PWD), Chile’s largest environmental campaign. It draws on a conceptualization of social movements as assemblages that can take rhizomatic and arborescent forms. This tension has allowed for a rich and diverse movement to arise, but it has also meant that environmental organizations have not always found a way of working together. PWD was possible and successful because of a previous period of organizational and political learning. It enabled organizations and activists to find the common ground needed to collaborate. These elements, combined with a new political and social context in the country, help us to understand the halt of HidroAysén, one of the Chilean environmental movement’s most important achievements.