Memory Activism and Difficult Heritage in Chile : A Geo-Sociological Approach to the Routes of Memory

The spatial traces of state terrorism committed during the Chilean dictatorship (1973-1990) represent a difficult heritage that continues to face resistance and spark controversy. Attempts to erase these remnants were systematic during the dictatorship, when many sites were destroyed; these demolitions and gradual dismantling continued after the restoration of democracy. Given the vulnerability of these sites, and within the broader context of demands for justice and symbolic reparation, civil society groups have been mobilizing since the mid-1990s to demand the protection of these sites—through their designation as heritage sites—and to publicize the memories of the atrocities they bear witness to.

In this context, this paper aims to examine the actions and demands carried out by various citizen associations engaged with memory sites designated as national monuments, which are part of a 'memory route' in the Valparaiso region. The objective is to explore how citizens' struggles to reclaim and bring life to these sites, confronted both with the spatialization of power asymmetries inherited from the dictatorship and with the weaknesses of public action in these matters, allow us to rethink heritage categories. Who are the actors involved in these "labors of memory"? What are their demands, their practices, as well as their uses and perceptions of the multiple heritage categories at stake? What are the limits of the patrimonialization and transmission of these legacies of violences rooted in the territory?

The fieldwork, initiated as part of a postdoctoral research project, took place between 2018 and 2024.