State, Counterrevolution, and Authoritarianism in the Political Trajectory of Chile's Professional Middle Class. From the Opposition to the Popular Unity to the End of the Colegios Profesionales (1970-1981)

This article analyzes the political trajectory of a Chilean middle class group, the professionals, between the opposition to the socialist government of Salvador Allende (1970-1973) and the end of its most representative organizations, the colegios profesionales, in 1981. It is argued that the counterrevolutionary radicalization, the support to the military dictatorship and the later turn towards the democratic opposition were due to the possibilities of these groups to negotiate with and to participate in the State. While the social polarization under the Popular Unity closed those circuits, the dictatorship seemed to opened them, and then to close them again as a consequence of the neoliberal reforms. In that context, the moral outrage provoked by the massive violations to Human Rights gave more political weight to the dissident professionals. The end of the colegios profesionales would mark the beginning of a more pronounced turn towards the opposition to the dictatorship.