Plaza Baquedano and the conservative memory movement in post-social upheaval Chile. Disputing the monumental action repertoire
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62174/quid16.i23_a403Abstract
Recently, Latin America has witnessed the intervention of many of the monuments to the figures of the conquest, the colony and the formation of national states. These statues have become the center of citizen protests, not only as a stage for rallies, but also as part of the demands. At the same time, these interventions have triggered conservative reactions that demand the preservation of national history and that label these interventions as violent and barbaric. Santiago, Chile, has witnessed one of the most expressive examples of this conservative memory activism. Since the social outburst in 2019, the monument to General Baquedano (hero of the War of the Pacific) and the square named on his behalf, took center place in the mobilizations. The huge statue has been intervened countless times with the demands emanating from this period. The reaction of the authorities, arguing heritage protection, has been drastic. In March 2021 they removed the statue leaving the plinth empty until today. Based on a research project on the intervention of monuments in Chile in the context of the 2019 protests, which includes a case study of the Plaza Baquedano, this article analyzes these conservative interventions in this iconic space of Santiago. These interventions, justified in heritage preservation, account for the rise of conservative cultural expressions that not only seek the maintenance and reproduction of national monumentality, but also the production of new aesthetics to resist change.Downloads
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