Post on 17-May-2023
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Beyond Survival: Tracing Individual Empowerment Processes in a Poor Chilean Settlement
Clàudia Turró
EPUC
Mariane Krause
EPUC
Abstract
Based on the life histories of residents from La Victoria, a poor settlement in Santiago,
Chile, this study reconstructed the central biographic elements in individual empowerment
processes, linking them with the socio-cultural context in which they occurred. Results show the
following main characteristics related to individual empowerment: identification with struggle; a
positive attitude towards learning throughout life; the establishment of goals, with relevant
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expectations, and the ability to take action to obtain them; the will to control the environment; a
perception of meaning in life; and the desire to help others. The most empowering contextual
elements found is the participatory context and the protective space, characterized by emotional
support and sense of community that La Victoria offers its inhabitants.
Keywords: individual empowerment processes, poverty, life histories.
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The present study seeks to contribute to the existing knowledge on empowerment with the
objective of delving into the individual processes by which a person empowers her/himself
during her/his lifetime and in association to his or her environment. Specifically, this study makes
three contributions: first, by describing the psychological aspects that, along with individual’s
biography, facilitate the process of empowerment; second, by describing the influence that the
contextual historical conditions have on this process; third, since there has been more literature
on the detrimental effects that poverty has on individual development (Gissi, 1986), it seems to
us especially relevant to increase knowledge about the individual and contextual aspects that
allow a person to evolve towards empowerment, despite the negative conditions represented by
poverty.
Most of the existing literature on empowerment processes has been developed in contexts
of citizen participation and/or community organizations, with less attention being given to the
individual aspects inherent to the process by which a person is empowered (Kieffer, 1984;
Zimmerman & Rappaport, 1988). Nevertheless, Kieffer’s classic study (1984) inquires into the
transition processes by means of which a person passes from a state of impotence as a political
agent to a social-political state of empowerment. More recently, research carried out by Yus
(1997) with women community leaders in two settlements of Santiago, Chile, describes the
individual aspects that influence the transformation of their self-image as women as the result of
their social participation, considering empowerment to be an expression of self-efficacy in the
public world.
Levels of empowerment
Empowerment is seen as a process by which people, organizations and communities gain
control over their lives with comprehension of their environment (Kieffer, 1984; Rappaport,
1984; Zimmerman, 1990a; Zimmerman, 2000). Rappaport (1984) distinguishes at least two levels
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of empowerment. The first involves individual processes, known as personal self-determination,
and refers to the capacity for determination that a person has over his life. This is understood as a
process through which people learn to establish a connection between their objectives and how to
obtain them and, therefore, to establish a relationship between their efforts and the results they
achieve throughout their lives (Mechanic, 1991). Zimmerman and Rappaport (1988) and
Zimmerman (1990a, 2000) also contemplate an introspective component in this type of
individual process that we call “psychological empowerment,” which includes personality,
cognition and aspects of motivational control. This type of empowerment is based on a perceived
control in three different domains of a person’s life: personal, interpersonal and socio-political
(Kieffer, 1984; Paulhaus, 1983; Zimmerman, 1995; Zimmerman & Rappaport, 1988). This last
domain involves participation in collective actions, membership in organizations that offer
support or mutual aid, or individual efforts to influence the socio-political context (Zimmerman,
Israel, Shulz & Checkoway, 1992; Zimmerman, 2000).
The second level, described by Rappaport in 1984, implies community processes, such as
competent participation, referring to the combination of attitudes, understanding, and abilities
required to execute a conscious and assertive role in the social growth of the immediate
environment.
As previously mentioned, different studies have confirmed that participation in voluntary
organizations is associated with individual empowerment (Berger & Neuhaus, 1977; Prestby,
Wandersman, Florin, Rich & Chavis 1990; Zimmerman & Rappaport, 1988). Nevertheless, the
components of this empowerment depend on the context and the population under study
(Rappaport; 1987, 1994; Trickett, 1994; Serrano-García & Bond, 1994). Kieffer’s 1984 study –
based on interviews with individuals who emerged as community leaders in North America –
revealed that the competences that enabled them to act effectively in their communities, included
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self-esteem, an understanding of cause and effect, and perceived efficacy. Zimmerman and
Rappaport (1988) showed that individual empowerment, involving personal control, a sense of
competence and a critical understanding of the socio-political environment also related to
participation in community organizations and activities. The aspects of empowerment indicated
in these two studies correspond to the interpersonal component previously described. They reveal
participation as an enhancer of individual or psychological empowerment (Prestby et al., 1990)
and make evident the interdependence and mutual influence between levels of individual,
organizational, and community empowerment (Zimmerman, 2000; Maton, 2008). Therefore,
empowerment must be understood as a consequence of a dialectical relationship between the
person and the environment of his/her community.
Poverty as a context
Poverty is a complex phenomena and difficult to define due to its theoretical ambiguity
(Altimir, 1979; Consejo Nacional para la Superación de la Pobreza, 1996; Kotliarenco, Cáceres
& Álvarez, 1996; Valdillo & Gómez, 1974). Nevertheless, poverty is associated with the
deprivation or insufficiency of some aspects linked to basic and psychosocial needs to which all
human beings have a right. The satisfaction of basic needs not only depends on income, but also
on the access that families have to government services, such as education, health, and housing
(Sánchez & Elizalde, 1995). In addition, poverty always has to be considered on the basis of a
determined and broader social context that includes the satisfaction of other needs, including
liberty, emotional support, security, participation, and identity (Sánchez & Elizalde, 1995;
Sirvent, 1998). Therefore, poverty is not only the lack of material resources, but also a given
psychosocial reality (Fundación Nacional para la Superación de la Pobreza, 1999; Gissi, 1986;
Gunn, 1994). On the other hand, it could be said that someone is poor not only because society
identifies him/her as such, but also because he/she has internalized what society thinks and says
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about him/her (Gunn, 1994). It is in this context that a cultural alienation of the poor is produced
by being influenced by improper beliefs, interests, and cultural values (Gissi, 1986). In a more
psychological sense, alienation implies feelings of impotence and “resignation” (op. cit.), which
are in direct opposition to the development of empowerment processes. Poor people’s resignation
has been associated with fatalism, passivity, feelings of impotence, a pessimistic view of the
world, and a low level of ambition – all elements that are contradictory to empowerment. This
conceptualization has been related to the classic notion of “learned helplessness” (Seligman,
1975): the motivation to obtain what is needed is insufficient, the person feels incapable and
becomes less capable of diagnosing the causes of frustration and searching for possible solutions
(Gissi, 1986; Sánchez & Elizalde, 1995).
Although poverty is a human experience in which diverse types of problems and
insufficiencies compound one another (Gunn, 1994), it is also a reality in which some people
discover a potential that allows them not only to survive under precarious conditions but to
actually develop as engaged citizens (Etchegaray, 1996). This phenomenon can be observed in
the Chilean settlement “La Victoria,” which is therefore an ideal setting in which to study
empowerment processes in the context of poverty. In fact, La Victoria has demonstrated the
empowerment of its inhabitants since its origins as an appropriation of land in 1957 (Cortés,
2003).
Individual empowerment in the context of poverty
Studies of individual empowerment processes in contexts of poverty have focused on
community leaders in order to reveal the abilities and experiences related to their psychological
empowerment process. Yus (1997), who studied women leaders in Santiago, Chile, showed that
her participants developed a heterogeneous array of social abilities, having a greater sensibility
towards their neighbors’ needs, as well as a complex view of the social reality and the situation of
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poverty in which they lived. Serrano-García’s (1984) findings, in Puerto Rico, demonstrate how
people learn new abilities in the context of community leadership, develop feelings of
competence, and also learn to take an active and positive role in their community. In North
America, Kieffer (1984) reveals how the experience of empowerment implies overcoming
feelings of dissatisfaction, marginality, vulnerability, and despair. Empowerment is also seen to
involve the management of two types of power: control over one’s own behavior, feelings,
thoughts, and will, and influence over the behavior of other persons or groups (Hollander &
Offerman, 1990; Speer & Hughey, 1995).
The La Victoria settlement
The La Victoria settlement was founded in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile, in
1957, through the appropriation of land by an organization of 3,000 families that migrated from a
peripheral zone of Santiago, where they lived in miserable conditions (TV Channel 13, 2003a,
2003b; Cortés 2003; La Victoria Neighbors Committee, 2002). It was the first (known) land
appropriation in South America, and therefore a “symbol” for citizens’ empowerment.
The settlers took the land, defended it, and at the same time, organized themselves in
committees of “homeless” to demand houses from the government. But instead of getting help
from the authorities, the police tried to oust the settlers by force. They were able to resist, because
the leaders had created the first formal organization of La Victoria: the Central Committee of
Settlers, which was able to win the support of members of congress, architects, national and
provincial leaders of settlers, as well as delegations and representatives of various Chilean
institutions (Bustamante et al., 2003; La Victoria Neighbors Committee, 2002; Paiva, 1989; TV
Channel 13, 2003a).
During 1957 and 1958, the settlers of La Victoria organized in many aspects: a health
committee was organized, a guard was kept, and women’s committee organized to prepare food.
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They organized themselves by blocks, in order to keep everybody participating. Even though the
authorities just “tolerated” them, they had help from institutions like universities, political parties,
and labor organizations.
During the 1960s, the people of La Victoria continued developing the settlement.
Urbanization projects were completed, the square, a new school, and Catholic and evangelical
churches were built; stores and street markets were established. They also organized cultural and
recreational activities in order to obtain financial support for basic services.
In the early 1970s, the election of president Salvador Allende represented the hope of a
better future for La Victoria. Allende’s government financed several projects for poor sectors,
including La Victoria. At this time, cultural activity in La Victoria was effervescent.
The military coup of September 11, 1973, put an end to Allende’s government and started
the dictatorial regime that lasted 17 years. For the La Victoria settlement, the dictatorship implied
repression, persecution, and massive unlawful invasions, resulting in death, detention, torture and
disappearance of many settlers (La Victoria Neighbors Committee, 2002; TV Channel 13,
2003a). To overcome their fear, the community united, fighting against the dictatorship both
secretly and openly. The Catholic and evangelical churches also consolidated their efforts to
strengthen the resistance.
During the 1980s, Chile suffered a serious economic crisis that principally affected the
social classes with fewer resources. At this time, an emblematic organization emerged in La
Victoria: the Settlement Command. Open elections were held so that each road chose a delegate
for the Command. In addition to representing the community, the new organization addressed
issues of poverty, unemployment, and quality of housing, and undertook actions for the most
beneficial distribution of resources. The women of La Victoria also demonstrated their leadership
by forming new women’s organizations of justice and resistance, like the Mujeres Democráticas
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de Chile (MUDECHI, Chilean Democratic Women). By this time, La Victoria was a model of
resistance to the dictatorship and enjoyed the support of international organizations (La Victoria
Neighbors’ Committee, 2002; Paiva, 1989; TV Channel 13, 2003a, 2003b). The military regime
ended in 1989, when a plebiscite called for the return of civilian rule.
Today, La Victoria faces new problems associated with drug dealing and violence, but
continues to benefit from the presence of many social organizations, that include the participation
of a high proportion of its inhabitants (Krause, Velásquez, Turró, Ramirez, Bustamante, &
Torres, 2002). Currently, the settlement is home to about 10,000 inhabitants, within a borough of
Santiago whose entire population numbers 102,066. The borough is considered poor, with 1.8%
of the population being indigent (i.e., having a monthly minimum income of under US$50) and
6.3% living in poverty on less that US$100 a month (Ministerio del Planificación, 2008).
La Victoria: A poor but empowered and resilient community
One of the aspects necessary for a community to be empowered is that it offer its
inhabitants the possibility to participate socially (Zimmerman, 2000), a characteristic evident in
La Victoria’s capacity for organization and self-government from its very beginnings (Cortés,
2003). The settlement’s network of organizations also offers the inhabitants the possibility of
voluntary cooperation and mutual support, so that they can collaborate in efforts to improve the
physical, social and economic conditions of their community. These are ingredients of what
Florin and Wandersman (1990) called a “developed community.”
In addition to being an empowered and developed community, La Victoria can also be
considered resilient, as it is a settlement in which members are capable of overcoming poverty
and repression, making use of their own resources to obtain certain changes in their material,
social and affective surroundings.
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Resilience, then, arises as a concept complementary to the understanding of
empowerment processes in poor neighborhoods (Maton, 2008). According to Rutter (1987,
1993), resilience is evident when the individual, faced with experiences that put him/her at risk,
cultivates protective aspects that allow him or her to successfully resolve the situation. Rutter
states that resilience is characterized by a series of protective elements, of personal, psychosocial,
family, and socio-cultural nature. Masten and Garmezy (1986) conclude that the most important
characteristics that operate as protective elements are: a) personal characteristics such as self-
determination, self-esteem, and positive social orientation; b) family cohesion, warmth, and the
absence of serious conflicts; and c) existence of external support systems that reinforce and
encourage efforts of confrontation.
Kotliarenco’s research in Chile (2000) has shown that, under the same conditions of
poverty, quality of life can be very different for different people. Concretely, in those cases in
which the family situation is characterized by a relatively better quality, the overall quality of life
is superior.
In keeping with these results, there is also evidence that relates empowerment to family
life. The Cornell Empowerment Group (1989) undertook a series of studies in the United States,
concluding that close family relationships were essential in favoring empowerment in children.
On the other hand, a study with North-American teenagers carried out by Zimmerman, Ramírez-
Valles and Maton (1999) shows that socio-political control (one of the dominating spheres of
empowerment) is a protecting factor against feelings of helplessness, which has an impact on the
mental health of these teenagers.
Participation and empowerment likewise have a positive impact on resilience. For
example, in the case of women who participate in community activities in poor districts, some of
the benefits include the strengthening of personal security; overcoming shyness, development of
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the ability to defend ideas; and the establishment of solidarity and strong bonds of friendship
(Alegría, Caro & Maragaño, 1993; Barrig & Fort, 1987; Chueca, 1991; Massolo, 1987).
It is evident that the concepts of resilience and empowerment have several common
aspects, even though each has its own focus. The focus of resilience is linked more to the
individual, while the empowerment concept usually focuses on the community. Nevertheless,
when the aim is to explore individual empowerment processes, as in the present study, the aspect
of resilience could be of interest, in order to reveal the development of empowerment processes
not only during adulthood, but also during childhood and adolescence. With this in mind – and
understanding that individual empowerment is the consequence of broader social and cultural
characteristics, as well as one’s family of origin and personal disposition (Garmezy, 1991;
Kotliarenco, Cáceres & Álvarez, 1996) – we can examine the life histories of empowered
individuals born into poverty to discover the individual, family, social, and historic elements that
make possible a resilient evolution towards empowerment.
Method
With the aim of capturing their biographical experiences from their own point of view,
life histories of active, involved participants in the community, inhabitants of the settlement La
Victoria, in Santiago, Chile, were collected and analyzed using qualitative methods, in order to
reconstruct the personal and environmental elements that would reveal how they came to be
empowered.
The community context of this study was well known to the researchers, who had been
working for two years in La Victoria in a community intervention project. The intervention
developed as part of a larger national project for the development of safe neighborhoods, with a
focus on the prevention of violence and drug abuse. The researchers’ previous relationship with
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many of their inhabitants and their knowledge of the community’s characteristics (Krause et al.,
2002, Krause et al., in press) were used as a springboard for the design of the present study. In
fact, the initial contacts with the participants were facilitated by other community members who
helped to “find” people who would fit with the dimensions that should be varied in keeping with
the process of theoretical sampling (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
Participants
Participants gave their informed consent in an initial contact during which the purpose of
the study and the procedure of interviewing were explained in detail. All of the contacted
community members agreed to participate. The sample was completed successively; after initial
data were collected and analyzed, the researchers decided whom to interview next in order to
obtain a variation in aspects that seemed relevant to the emerging results (Strauss & Corbin,
1990). Nevertheless, all the individuals interviewed had a longstanding active participation in at
least one community organization which demonstrated committed to the development of their
neighborhood from their own point of view and from the perspective of other community
members (those who helped us with the initial contact). The successive sampling procedure was
initiated with two participants who were at least 20 years old by the end of 1957 (when the
appropriation of land took place), because of the probability of having collaborated consciously
in building the settlement.
Variations of type of social participation and community leadership were included in the
selection of the participants, as well as variations of gender, age, marital status, and parenthood,
with the objective of discovering the common aspects that had influenced their empowerment
processes despite these differences. Through these carefully managed variations, the selected
participants represented the broader population of citizens involved in community participation in
the La Victoria settlement.
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Table 1 specifies the characteristics of the people interviewed according to the specified
criteria.
PLEASE INSERT TABLE 1 HERE
Data collection
The principal technique of data collection used was the narrative-biographic and semi-
structured interview. Participants were all interviewed by the same person, a 30-year-old female
graduate student working on her Master’s in community psychology, who had been trained in
qualitative methods and had some contact to most of the participants before, without knowing
them well. Each of the seven participants was interviewed three times. They were not paid for
their participation. The first two interviews were narrative-biographic (Flick, 2004), in other
words, participants were invited to recount their life histories, with as few as possible questions
or interruptions by the interviewer. The interviews lasted between 60 and 90 minutes. The semi-
structured interview was done last, with the purpose of looking more deeply into areas that had
not been covered sufficiently by the narrative interviews.
In order to maximize the fidelity of the information, interview data were triangulated with
information coming the following sources: a) diagnostic and evaluation data from the
abovementioned community intervention (Krause et al., in press); and b) documents and
newspaper articles about the history of La Victoria.
Data analysis
The analyzed data stemmed from 21 interviews, which have been transcribed textually.
Each transcription is between 30 and 40 pages long. Intra-case and then inter-case analysis was
carried out. The first step was open coding, a process by which the text is broken down into
meaningful units that are labeled with concepts (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Coding was done by
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two researchers with experience in qualitative analysis (the authors). After completing an initial
list of concepts, these were grouped into broader categories of related contents. Emerging
concepts and categories were triangulated with the analysis done by students of the Master’s
program in community psychology.
During a second step, the codes were compared to Rappaport’s (1984) and Fetterman’s
(1996) theories, in order to identify possible competences related to empowerment. While the
analysis progressed, these categories were arranged into different levels of abstraction. Since the
system of categories evolves with every new case that is included, usually one has to go back to
re-analyze the first interviews once the categorical system has become stable. Data was examined
for similarities and differences. This technique, together with the intentional selection of cases
through theoretical sampling, allowed the development of a system of classification that includes
the main contents common to all participants, as well as variations or different expressions of the
phenomenon under study.
In a third step, the main categories of the analysis were related to one another. In this
study, characteristics of individual empowerment were related to the different contextual
conditions, such as life events, family relations, community context, and broader social, political,
and historical issues.
Results show the main, common categories (Kleining, 1982) illustrate variations between
cases, and explain the relationship that the common aspects of empowerment have with the
contextual conditions.
Results
Results have been organized according to the common characteristics of the participants’
empowerment processes and their relation with contextual facilitators. Summaries of each
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participant’s biography can be found in the Appendix. Results begin with a schematic
presentation of the main elements involved (Table 2), differentiating between characteristics of
empowerment, associated feelings, attitudes and behavior, and influencing elements from family,
community, and social contexts. The relation of the different contextual elements with the
characteristics of empowerment is not 1:1, which means that each of the former influence more
than one of the latter.
PLEASE INSERT TABLE 2 HERE
Identification with struggle
The childhood of the interviewees was difficult in two ways: the experience of a certain
degree of stress linked to economic privation and generally the death of a parent, which was
compounded paternal abandonment in the cases of Carmen and Esteban. The economic
difficulties of childhood become worse and continued during the adolescence of the interviewees,
as their families of origin were all are very large. As a consequence, the interviewees had to work
to meet their own needs and those of their families; the women also have had to assume domestic
responsibilities and caregiving roles. Thus, the feelings of pain and loss of a loved one are
overwhelmed by a feeling of duty in the face of external demands. The responsibilities assumed
by the interviewees and their strategy of survival in daily life made them grow up fast, as they
themselves observed. In addition to their social participation, this precocious maturity represents
an early introduction to the social world and constitutes an identity based on action within the
environment rather than “existence” within it. The aforementioned can be appreciated in attitudes
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that imply “energy” in the interviewees, such as perseverance, confrontation of difficulties and
having the initiative to change the environment.
In synthesis, the interviewees do not give up when faced with adversity, but rather adopt
an attitude that allows them to see the resources in the world, which means that they focus their
life on what they have rather than what they lack.
Coping with poverty
The interviewees distinguish between an objective poverty, described as the lack of
certain basic needs, and what poverty “means to them”. Objective poverty is evident mainly in
their family of origin, as there were difficulties involved in meeting needs related to housing,
food or school materials. While poverty involved certain constrictions, it is nonetheless perceived
by the interviewees as something that “allows you to face the world” (Bernarda), which involves
a proactive attitude towards reality and allows one to change the situation through coping
strategies. This makes poverty not only more bearable, but also favors personal and material
growth and, therefore, a greater well-being. The first step that the interviewees adopt for coping
with poverty is having an attitude of accepting their reality of being poor. This attitude leads
them to incorporate a sense of dignity in being poor: “I believe, the richness inside, of the spirit,
is more important” (Felisa). Thus, poverty does not hinder the interviewees’ ability to live with
dignity, by participating, reading to obtain culture or fighting for ideals.
The common feature is the proactive attitude in facing and overcoming poverty. It
manifests as perseverance that finds its origin in the maternal model, that is, in having lived with
a strong and hard-working mother. Concretely, this proactive attitude finds expression in their
ability to 1) develop resources; 2) make a better use of them; and 3) plan their expenses. It also
involves looking for solutions in the environment through the identification of resources, sharing
with others, and working.
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Learning to learn: Knowledge is power
The experience the interviewees had in different spheres of their lives taught them to
value the learning process and to utilize what they have learned. Politics is one of the spheres that
allows Armando, Bernarda, Carmen and Damián to analyze society and the way in which it
should function, i.e., with equity and justice. Based on their knowledge of the social structure and
politics, the interviewees become aware of their status as citizens and rights bearers. Political
activism also provides opportunities for self-improvement and the discovery of potential role
models.
Other fields have also influenced the interviewees. In the case of Damián it is folk art, an
activity which he started when he was 18 years old. He incorporates into his own creations
aspects that he observes in the work of other folk artists and what he reads about native cultures,
which also contributes to his self-identity. The creative drive to design art has repercussion in his
daily life, be it organizing some community activity or overcoming economic difficulties. In the
case of Esteban, it is sports; more precisely, the practice of martial arts since he was an
adolescent. The knowledge of movement and the philosophy behind the sport forged his self-
discipline, a positive and serene attitude towards life and the search for a harmonious coexistence
and mutual understanding in his relationships with others. Felisa gets her particular cosmovision
from the constant study of the Bible. She passes on what she has learned to the community
through Christian reflection groups and incorporates the idea of being just (according to the
Christian proposal) in her interpersonal relationships.
At the same time, the interviewees have an emotional bond with their work that facilitates
the integration of what they learn. Moreover, all the participants strive for dominion over
something of their own choosing (in Gema’s case it is the technical field). This generates in them
the pleasure of learning, studying, and growing intellectually.
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A meaning in life
The interviewees’ perception of a meaning in life allows them to interact with the
environment in a way that is coherent with their identity. In the interviews, they relate their
understanding of this meaning in life to the experience of a crisis that made them examine
themselves and take charge of their lives.
Armando’s meaning in life is found in the dignity he gains by working, either as a
professional or in the community. For Bernarda and Carmen, it is obtaining social justice to their
everyday lives and in their community through social participation. Part of the meaning in life for
Damián is found in his community work to make La Victoria a better place, while his folk art
gives him individual pleasure and identity: “the folk artist has native roots (…) [doing folk art is]
like identifying yourself with the pre-Hispanic cultures…” Faith in God, channeled through
social participation, gives meaning to Felisa’s life. She makes the link between God’s teachings
and the social participation quite clear: “…to discover that Christ was the first Communist, that
he and his 12 Apostles went to preach and to tell us that we had to fight for others, we have to
think about others and that things are achieved by coming together in an organization… [and]
fighting for your rights…”.
One’s meaning in life can also be found in the commitment to family. This is the case of
Gema and, to a certain extent, Damian. Gema’s meaning in life is based on giving emotional and
economic security to her children, so that they do not suffer the emotional-family and economic
privations that she had to endure.
Because the interviewees confront a difficult environment, having a meaning in life is
essential. It entails the pleasure of having a purpose in life, something in which you believe,
despite the sometimes-hostile surroundings. For the interviewees, having a meaning in life
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involves making progress towards a goal that has an existential meaning, which is the opposite of
“daily survival.”
The search for intimacy
The ways in which the interviewees cultivate close relationships with other people differs
by gender. Men look for intimacy with a partner and expect to build life with her, which also
allows them to differentiate themselves from their families of origin and to form their own
family. Their partner represents the establishment of an intimate relationship based on caring and
mutual aid and the possibility of unconditional support for their personal projects.
However, the interviewed women do not express the need for emotional support or
protection from a man. Bernarda and Gema, neither of who have partner, receive emotional
support from their children, and before Bernarda’s children were born, her mother played a
central role as a caring and protective figure. While Felisa did have a husband until he abandoned
their home, both she and Carmen look for closeness outside the family sphere, in the
relationships they establish with others within a context of organizational participation. Carmen
and Felisa became settlement leaders in different social organizations, playing a crucial role in
the social change produced in La Victoria during the years of the dictatorship. These two women
share an attitude of self-sufficiency when facing life and its adversities, and their lives are marked
by community leadership and the struggle for individual and social rights.
Helping others
Among the interviewees there is a sense of duty to and responsibility for the world; an
ethical conviction of the importance of helping others that is reflected in the family sphere, in
their social participation, and in daily relationships. They believe one has to commit oneself to
others: “I believe that in order to live in peace with oneself, one has to know how to get along
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well with everybody” (Armando). “It is about principles, education, family, right? One must
always help the person who needs it” (Carmen). “You have to share what you have” (Felisa).
These beliefs, values, and attitudes favor the interpersonal relationships of the
interviewees. Concern for others is not only necessary; it is part of their development as
individuals, because their identity is founded on their relationships with others.
Finally, the underlying idea of being responsible and having a social conscience is of
great importance. In an environment with such difficult socio-political and economic conditions
as La Victoria, it is essential for them to assume a role in the community.
Existence of a “safe space”
In an environment defined by economic precariousness, paternal deaths, and for Felisa
and Gema, abuse during their childhood and youth, the interviewees have found emotional
support in “safe spaces” generated by social relationships based on affection and acceptance, as
well as a social group that facilitates the interviewees sense of belonging. In some cases, this
protective space is the family, and in other cases it may be school, community organizations or
work.
These safe spaces existed during a decisive moment in the psychosocial development of
the interviewees, in their childhood or adolescence, satisfying basic emotional needs and
promoting self-acceptance and self-esteem. These spaces provided a solid base from which the
interviewees were able to confront youth and adulthood with the new responsibilities that both
stages entail.
The influence of La Victoria
For the interviewees, La Victoria represents an environment in which it is possible to
know one another and talk to one’s neighbors. This setting generates a certain neighborhood
intimacy, a climate of trust and a feeling of security and facilitates the interviewees participation
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in improving the settlement’s well-being. “After our fathers got home from work, we had to
build, make sun-dried bricks. We all took part; the mothers, the children, the fathers” (Carmen).
Among the interviewees, this “growing together with the settlement” promoted a sense of
community expressed in feeling secure and being part of a place, perceiving this belonging in
such a way that both sides, the community and the individual, give of themselves mutually. “I
walk along the street, and this is my street, they are my streets, this is my settlement” (Felisa).
The settlement faced extremely precarious conditions during the years following the
original land appropriation. The settlers’ need for mutual association and cooperation in their
efforts to develop a suitable place in which to live turned La Victoria turned into a social context
facilitating the participation of the interviewees. “Almost everybody got organized. Then it was
easy for them, there was good communication” (Bernarda).
Participation and its consequences for empowerment
While the interviewees were chosen intentionally because of their community
participation, for the purposes of this study, it is interesting to explain what participation means
to them and how it benefited the interviewees processes of empowerment.
Their participation was based on the desire to help others and the aim of favoring the
well-being of their social group. Armando establishes supportive relationships that benefit those
in need; Bernarda and Gema offer the organizations their unconditional support; Carmen and
Felisa position themselves as leaders and driving forces for social change because they
understand organizational dynamics and have the ability to command; Damián uses his creativity
to generate community activities that take place in public spaces of the settlement; and Esteban
uses sports as a mean to encourage the promotion of healthy living.
The interviewees derive personal satisfaction from this generosity towards others, and
because they are a resource for the members of an organization in particular and for the
22
community in general, they also feel more competent. As Armando says: “…false modesty aside,
we felt we were useful. We were valuable human beings, we were held in high esteem. Helping
someone, not financially but using words, talking to them, encourages them more than if you say
‘here take a thousand pesos’.”
Participation has many benefits for the interviewees. First, the group or organization
becomes a bridge between the individual and society. It offers the individual an opportunity to
relate him/herself with his/her immediate social reality, i.e., his settlement and its inhabitants – “it
has been good to get to know other people, to get to know others’ needs” (Esteban) – while
simultaneously connecting them with society-at-large: “participating one discovers the world”
(Carmen).
Through participation, the interviewees also develop an assertiveness that allows them to
establish real relationships that reaffirm their own identity. In this sense, Damián states: “If you
are with me, we can both organize something together. Why? Because I am a being that thinks;
you think, and if we think together, something good can come out of it, but if you come and give
me orders ‘do this’ … no, no, no” (Damián).
Participation also favors the psychosocial well-being of the interviewees by building up
the feeling of belonging to the group or organization and feeling valued by it and by perceiving
one’s contribution to the community (which is very evident in those who assume a community
leadership). In addition, the interviewees see the other group members a source of help and/or a
resource to obtain goals.
Work: Need and progress
A positive attitude towards work is outstanding in the men interviewed. Work gives them
a sense of enjoyment, commitment, and responsibility, and it demands results. “I like to do
something, start something, finish it well, do it well, and then start another thing, not leaving
23
things half done” (Esteban). For these interviewees work not only means economic income for
the family, but also a space of personal conquest where they can develop a career. In this way,
they start as apprentices in their jobs and ascend to a supervisory position, being responsible for a
group of workers. In such a role, they learn group management skills, establishing clear limits,
generating a climate of trust, and encouraging others to assume responsibilities in their work.
There is also an attitude of work-related responsibility and efforts to be employed among
the women interviewed. While they share a commitment to always having some sort of
remunerated work in order to support economically their families, most of them don’t have a
career like the men. Carmen is the exception; for years, she has worked in the local government
of her settlement as an administrator and supporter of political and community actions for her
neighborhood. Her job suits her interests in community work and her desire to improve herself in
keeping with her skills.
Both the men and the women interviewed have adapted themselves to different jobs
(formal or informal) over the course of their lives in response to the urgent need to contribute
economically to their family or in light of difficulties in finding work in an adverse political
context (dictatorship). “For example, I don’t have a job… but I work hard selling kerosene.
Selling kerosene I earn enough to eat” (Gema).
Discussion
This study sought to understand individual processes of empowerment in the context of a
Chilean settlement that was the first land appropriation in South America.
The following psychological and individual aspects facilitated the individual processes of
empowerment: (1) an identification with struggle, (2) a positive attitude towards learning
throughout life, (3) the establishment of goals, with relevant expectations, and the ability to take
24
action to obtain them, (4) the will to control the environment, (5) a perception of meaning in life
and (6) the desire to helping others. Each of these findings can be related to prior research and/or
prevailing concepts in the literature on empowerment.
The first aspect, the identification with struggle, is defined by the interviewees as taking
action over their environment and adopting attitudes that imply energy. The community
participants and leaders interviewed persevere in obtaining goals (in keeping with the
observations by Fetterman, 1996), confronting the difficulties and taking initiative to change the
environment. This last attitude is even stronger in the face of emotional and/or economic
adversity and is in line with one of the aspects of psychological empowerment indicated by De
Charms (1968) and Zimmerman (2000): the ability to influence the environment when it does not
correspond to the person’s needs.
In second place, the positive attitude towards learning, involves being confident about
being able to go on, which also develops into an internal protective aspect, according to the
model of resilience and the findings of Florenzano and Valdés (1996).
The third characteristic – establishing goals or expectations and taking action to obtain
them – also corresponds to one of the skills related to empowerment identified by Fetterman
(1996) and is expressed by the interviewees through strict self-sufficiency in obtaining the
proposed goals. In the case of the men, this behavior becomes more flexible when they marry;
they will ask their partner for support. The “autonomy” in the empowerment processes of our
participants – evident in the fact that action is directed by the individual and not imposed by the
environment – is one of White’s (1959) requirements for competence and also coincides with the
contributions of Lefcourt (1976) and Bandura (1977) regarding psychological empowerment.
The fourth aspect of our participants’ empowerment, the will to dominate the
environment in which they found themselves, coincides with the definitions of empowerment in
25
Rappaport (1984) and Zimmerman (1990a). The interviewees’ sense of control gives them an
appreciation for learning, enjoyment of intellectual growth and the opportunity to apply what
they have learned in their daily life and their interpersonal relationships.
In fifth place, the interviewees find a meaning in life related to giving the best of
themselves, individually and/or socially. The importance of having a meaning in life arises from
what the notion of “living instead of merely surviving” means to them, particularly in their
context of struggle in a constantly hostile environment. This aspects coincides with the personal
or subjective criteria of mental health proposed by Strupp and Hadley (1977). An individual
enjoys positive feelings of well-being when his/her actions are coherent with his/her ideals. In a
similar sense, an existential meaning in life is crucial for mental health of people, as long as the
individual is able to overcome adversity and is able to develop the capacity for enjoyment
(Frankl, 1986).
The final main characteristic of the individual empowerment processes studied is the
commitment that underlies social participation, understood as the ethical conviction of the value
of helping others. The collective actions that the interviewees develop aim to help or support
others in different ways. This coincides with another of the characteristics of psychological
empowerment proposed by Zimmerman (Zimmerman, Israel, Shulz & Checkoway, 1992;
Zimmerman, 2000).
Our participants also have the conviction that their living conditions and their
environment can be improved through participation. Berger and Neuhaus (1977) and Florin and
Wandersman (1990) also described this characteristic of psychological empowerment. The
interviewees confront poverty by ranking their needs. Rather than becoming what Moulian
(1997) calls “credit-card citizens” (contracting considerable debts because of unrealistic
economic expectations), our interviewees plan their expenses in a realistic way and manage them
26
with care. In this context of poverty, their perseverance is exemplified by always having a job or
by undertaking new actions that bring them some earnings. Nevertheless, they also accept their
reality, conceiving a dignity of being poor, which is expressed in the spiritual enrichment they get
from participating, in improving themselves or in fighting for their ideals. These findings confirm
that the lack of resources does not imply the absence of life projects or education; furthermore
poverty often strengthens these aspects, as found by Etchegaray’s 1996 study on resiliency.
With regard to the contextual conditions, the “protective space” is one of the essential
mediators of empowerment as it appears in a crucial stage of the interviewees’ development: their
childhood and youth, characterized by an environment with high risks for their psychosocial
well-being (economic precariousness, paternal deaths at an early age and abuse in two cases).
This protective space includes social relationships based on emotional support and acceptation, as
well as participation in and a sense of belonging to certain social groups. In a study of youngsters
in urban North American, Zimmerman, Bingenheimer and Notaro (2002) found that having a
mentor and role model discourages them from high-risk behaviors. Likewise, from the
perspective of resiliency, Rutter (1993) demonstrated that in the face of difficult situations at a
critical age, as is childhood or adolescence, being linked with protective factors fulfills a
repairing role. For our interviewees, one of these factors is family, when there is an open
communication, an emotional bond and a warm atmosphere. While various studies (Florenzano
& Valdés, 1996; Kotliarenco, Cáceres & Álvarez, 1996; Kotliarenco, 2000) show the family as
the most important protective space, our results reveal that it is not the only one. School,
community groups, sports organizations and work are protective spaces that satisfy emotional
needs and develop autonomy and self-esteem for some of our interviewees, offering personal
protective factors that favor resilience (Kotliarenco, Cáceres & Álvarez, 1996; Rutter, 1987)
sometimes despite an unfavorable family context.
27
A second context related to individual empowerment is work, which gives our
participants the necessary economic autonomy. Gainful employment is quite important for the
men interviewed, especially according to traditional roles. By forming part of the “productive”
world, they generate protection and security for their families (Orsi & Riqué, 1996). Our results
also indicate that work is a field of self-improvement for the interviewees, because they feel
successful.
As a macro-context, the La Victoria settlement is crucial to understanding the
empowerment of the participants, for various reasons. First, as an environment in which people
know and talk to each other, generating a certain neighborhood intimacy and a climate of trust.
Second, by having elements inherent to an empowered community (Zimmerman, 2000) including
mutual respect, critical reflection, and caring among the neighbors, as well as the possibility of
participating in different organizations. This social participation strengthens the empowerment of
the interviewees, developing an awareness of their status as settlers, which leads to a
comprehensive and critical vision of the socio-political environment (Zimmerman and Rappaport,
1988; Zimmerman, 2000). This was also found by Yus (1997) in her study of women leaders in
poor, rural contexts. Furthermore, such awareness favors their ability to identify and pursue
resources in the environment, giving them the possibility of participating efficiently in
organizations and public services and defending their individual rights, which are broadened to
the rights of the community. Yus (1997, p. 20) called this “self-efficiency in the public
environment.” Participating also implies the satisfaction of certain basic psychosocial needs, i.e.,
feeling that one belongs to a group and is valued by it. According to Sprague and Hayes (2000),
establishing interpersonal relationships in which there is mutual support, acknowledgement of the
others and joint work strengthens empowerment.
28
A third reason why La Victoria is an essential context for the development of
empowerment is the sense of community that exists in the settlement (McMillan & Chavis,
1986). Our interviewees feel safe by participating in the improvement of the settlement’s well-
being and making it their own achievement. The sense of community, as Chavis and
Wandersman (1990) state, has a reciprocal cause and effect, in the sense that a greater security in
the environment favors this sense and vice versa, generating the adequate conditions for the
person to feel part of the environment. Several studies (Bachrach & Zautra, 1985; Chavis &
Wandersman, 1990; Maton & Rappaport, 1984) show the connection between a sense of
community and empowerment.
As a whole, our results are coherent with two recent articles (Hur, 2006; Maton, 2008)
that review previous literature on empowerment showing, among other findings, the
characteristics of individual (or personal) empowerment. For Hur (2006), the main components
of personal empowerment are “meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact” (p. 533).
The first three are also essential components of individual empowerment in our study. The fourth,
although less explicit during the biographic interviews, can to be inferred by the fact that all our
interviewees are effective participants in their communities. On the other hand, looking at
Mason’s model for empowering community settings, it seems to be very clear that, even though
he is looking at the context and the psychological mediators more than at the individual (as we do
in this study), every one of these mediators – awareness, motivation, self-efficacy, skill
development, caring, support, belonging, meaningful roles, and engagement – coincide with our
findings regarding the individual processes of empowerment (Maton, 2008).
Our study demonstrated how individual aspects commingle with contextual conditions in
the construction of “histories of empowered lives”; but these results were generated in a very
specific context: a poor, but simultaneously, empowered community forged during a period of
29
dramatic political changes in Chile. While these are specific conditions for our result, they
strongly coincide with prior research and with the concepts of community psychology and
resilience literature, and therefore, we believe that the individual and contextual conditions of the
empowerment processes analyzed are not idiosyncratic of the community studied nor even of the
country or cultural conditions. There are other possible contexts that could combine conditions of
empowerment processes similar to those studied here. For example, for the development of
knowledge in this area, it would be interesting to replicate our study in communities in situations
of armed conflict or in those dealing with long-term effects of natural disasters or even to other
communities living in poverty.
On the other hand, since we were interested in empowerment processes, we only studied
successful community participants. Consequently, our results do not show the conditions
involved when empowerment fails. By comparing successful and unsuccessful individual
empowerment processes, future research could define more precisely which conditions are
necessary and sufficient for its development. Also, our results only insinuated gender differences
in empowerment processes. There is a need for future research to explore in greater detail the
differences of gender in individual processes of empowerment.
Finally, the results of our study show some paths for prevention or promotion of
psychosocial health in communities, reminding us yet again how a context that favors
participation and sense of community has a positive impact not only on community development,
but also on the health of individuals.
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Appendix
Participants’ life histories
Armando, who is 78 years old, arrived in La Victoria with his wife when he was 32 years
old, shortly after the appropriation of land. He has fond memories of his early childhood, which
he spent with his parents and six brothers. He began work as a shoemaker in a factory when he
was 12 years old, after his father died. He married at 20, very much in love. Throughout his life,
he participated in the community, holding the position as treasurer of the block during the
settlement’s founding. Later, when he was 35 years old, he joined an organization dedicated to
rehabilitation, in which he participated for 30 years, even after the death of his wife, which he
faced with an attitude of acceptance. Three years after this loss, he began another relationship
with an old girlfriend, who continues to be his partner. When he was 73 years old, he suffered a
serious illness but continued to be concerned about to his environment and to others.
Bernarda is 70 years old and arrived in La Victoria two months after the appropriation,
when she was 22 years old. She came from a small town where she lived with her mother and
five brothers. Bernarda remembers her childhood as being sad and hard because she never knew
her father. Nevertheless, this was compensated by the good relationship with her family and the
pleasure of going to school. Since age 14, Bernarda has belonged to different organizations. At
15, she started to work in a tailor’s shop and she has worked as a seamstress on various occasions
throughout her life. She married when she was 20 years old and had her first daughter at that
same age, followed by five more children. In La Victoria, she started a “new life,” raising her
children and beginning to participate in the community. She eventually founded a Mother’s
Center in which she still participates. Between the ages of 44 and 45, she received support from
her family after the death of her husband and her mother, both during the dictatorship. She
39
currently lives with two of her daughters and three grandchildren and continues to participate
actively.
Carmen is a single woman, 46 years old. She arrived in La Victoria with her nine brothers
when she was ten days old, during the appropriation of the land. Carmen feels a solid part of the
settlement, despite the economic difficulties her family endured at the beginning. When she was
16, Carmen started to work in order to pay for her studies, while also participating in various
organizations of the settlement. At the same time she had to assume the role of caregiver for her
younger brothers when their mother died. One of Carmen’s defining characteristics is her socio-
political participation, strengthened by the different responsibilities of community leadership that
she has held from age 17. At the end of the dictatorship, she started to work in administration for
the local government, where she continues today. In recent years, she has been head of
household, caring for her father, who died last year, her sister and nephews. In addition, she has
held a leadership position in a neighborhood organization since 1996.
Damián was born in La Victoria 40 years ago and has seven brothers. When he was 13
years old, his father (with whom he was very close) died, and as a consequence in addition to
going to school, Damián was obliged to start working. When he was 16, he joined the resistance
against the dictatorship, which he had to leave when he was 18 years old, because he went to live
in the south with his mother and some of his brothers. While worked in the fields, he trained as
an electrician, in which he later went on to specialize. Returned to La Victoria six years later,
where he wanted to live and participate actively against the dictatorship. Shortly after his arrival
he met his partner, married and had two children. Besides participating socially and working as
electrician, Damián has enjoyed doing folk art since he was young. He started to earn money
from his art when he was 35 years old, organizing the Folk Artists Association, in which he is
still involved.
40
Esteban is 43 years old and arrived in La Victoria with his five brothers, when he was six
years old, ten years after the appropriation of land. His adolescence was characterized by his love
for sports, study and work. He had serious conflicts with his father because these activities kept
him away from home. When he was 18 years old, his parents separated and he distanced himself
from his father. At age 21, he married, assuming responsibility as husband and father of two
children. When he was 38 years old, his mother (with whom he was very close) died. His social
participation was mainly in sports. At the age of 30, he organized a Football School for the
settlement’s young men. Last year, he joined the Folk Artists Association of La Victoria, in order
to learn a craft with which he could earn money when faced with temporary unemployment.
Furthermore, as a teacher of martial arts, his love for sports continues.
Felisa, 52 years old, arrived in La Victoria at the age of five, when her father, a political
leader, decided to participate in the appropriation of land. She has nine brothers and bitter
memories of her childhood because her father was absent and her mother treated her harshly.
Since she was eight years old, she has participated in different organizations in La Victoria, such
as the Christian Community and the Settlers Command. She worked first in a factory and later in
her brother’s butcher’s shop. Felisa married at age 21 and had her first and only child at 24. At
age 30, she took on leadership roles in the two aforementioned organizations. When she was 35,
her husband left home and Felisa spent three years looking for him, until she gave him up as
having disappeared. Since then she has had no other partner. When Felisa was 40 years old, her
father died. Recent years have been hard because of her son’s drug addiction and because she has
been diagnosed with cancer. Her faith in God, her continuous social participation and her son are
the pillars of her strength.
Gema is 45 years old and was born in La Victoria. Her childhood was hard because she
faced prolonged physical and psychological abuse by her mother and older brothers. The physical
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abuse started when Gema was five years old, after the death of her father, with whom she had a
very close relationship. During her youth, she worked in various factories and, intermittently, she
took in sewing. She earned most of the family’s income and was responsible for all the domestic
chores. When she was 25 years old, she married and had two daughters. Some time later, she
assumed the role of block representative, while also participating in the Christian Community.
After 11 years of marriage, she realized that her partner only wanted her around to care for him
during his illness and so she decided to separate. At age 38 she found a new partner, with whom
she had another son. Gema separated again after five years. During this period, she was
diagnosed with two cancerous cerebral tumors; even after surgery, her prognosis is not good. At
44 years of age, Gema is coping with her illness by dedicating herself to her family, her sewing
work, and the community.
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Table 1. Characteristics of the Participants
CASE PSEUDONYM SEX AGE FAMILY STRUCTURE TYPE OF SOCIAL
PARTICIPATION
A Armando M 78 Widower, currently with a
partner, no children Community leadership
B Bernarda F 70 Widow, currently without a
partner, six children Community leadership
C Carmen F 46 Single, no children. Lives with
two brothers and three nephews Community leadership
D Damián M 41 Married, two children Community participation
E Esteban M 43 Married, two children Community participation
F Felisa F 52 Married to husband who left
home, one child Community leadership
G Gema F 45 Separated twice, three children Community participation
43
Table 2. Main Characteristics and Influencing Elements of Individual Empowerment
Main characteristics
of individual
empowerment
Associated feelings,
attitudes and
behavior
Influencing
elements from
family context
Influencing
elements from
community
context
Influencing
economical, social,
historical elements
An identification with
struggle
Coping with poverty
Learning to learn:
knowledge is power
Meaning in life
The search for
intimacy
The desire to help
others
Starting work early
in life
Attitude of
responsibility and
effort towards work
Proactive attitude
in facing and
overcoming
poverty
The will to have
dominion in some
field
Participation in
community
organizations
Feeling part of the
community
Having a purpose
in life
Searching for
emotional
closeness
The early loss of
family members
(generally a
parent)
Value of work
and social
commitment
Role models for
social
commitment and
participation
A settlement being
developed by the
neighbors
A place with sense
of community
A highly
organized
neighborhood
with many
possibilities for
participation
Existence of a
“safe space”
Economic difficulties
Support form
national and
international
organizations
Support from
Allende’s
government
La Victoria as an
national and
international
“example” for
effective political
activism
Political persecution
by Pinochet’s
dictatorship
Normalization (La
Victoria settlement
shares the same
problems of other
poor neighborhoods)