October was Carnival: From the Crazy people’s party to the Party of those who are left over on the stage of the social revolt of October-19 in Chile

Abstract

Given the recent and turbulent past of what happened in the so-called Social Outbreak, the following article will analyse, from a performative perspective, the historical and carnivalesque scenario of social unrest expressed in Chile during October 2019. With this we intend to address the evident crisis of representativeness of an agglomeration without a subject in its coefficient of revolt, insofar as it comprises a “repertoire” (Taylor, 2015) that has managed to be transmitted, despite all attempts of hegemonic repression, under various forms of festive expression of Chilean idiosyncrasy. This leads us to think about a displacement of historical-popular roots (that is, the once crazy people’s party, now the party of those who are left over) that would account for the materialities of possible social struggles not necessarily inscribed in a specific political sector. In this sense, we will review in a general way the theoretical discussion about carnival in Europe and Latin America and its political disruptive potential. Then, through a situated study we will reflect on the elements that reveal the scenario of the octobrist revolt, both in its full participation and in its attempt of analytical distancing.