Between Political Resistance, Care, and Emotions: Life Stories of Women from Urban Peripheries in Chile

Historically, women’s role in city-making has been invisible. Although they participate in land occupation or acquisition and in housing construction, their role is overshadowed by men, neglecting the crucial role women play in city-building (Deere & León, 2014; Rolnik, 2011).

This work aims to recover the contribution of women in city-making within “poblaciones emblemáticas" (historical poor neighborhoods) in Chile, particularly where self-construction has been a key mode of housing and neighborhood creation. These neighborhoods were established between 1960 and the early 1970s and were harshly repressed during the military dictatorship in Chile. This study explores how this violence impacted their public participation, shaping them as political subjects.

The research examines life stories of women leaders in Santiago and Valparaíso, daughters of land occupation founders. Their accounts reveal the effects of repressive violence, with many experiencing forced disappearances. Women, often left alone, took on both caregiving and economic support, balancing affection in their homes with fear in the public sphere. Silence became a form of protection. Since the 1990s, these women have promoted citizen participation and social support in their neighborhoods, highlighting an ethic of care. They learned to manage the daily tension between home and the fear of public spaces. Military repression restricted their freedom, but self-care enabled them to continue. Today, their political and community action reflects the emotions of growing up under dictatorship, merging the domestic and public realms, embodying dignity.