The latent limits of the Concertación: re-translations of the religious cleavage

Abstract

This article assesses the formation of the Chilean party system through the cleavage theory. This theory –broadly studied in the European sociopolitical studies– has achieved especial relevance in the Chilean context. In fact, scholars have established some cleavages like the phenomenon that gives rise to the party system –religious and social cleavages. However, in the last decade, other scholars have started a discussion in relation to the existence of a new cleavage: the authoritarian. In this theoretical frame, I propose two objectives: first, I describe the current configuration of the Chilean party system and its party coalitions through generative cleavages, specially the retranslation of no hegemonic religious cleavages in the government coalition: La Concertación. On the other hand, I research of an empiric case, through a qua -litative approach, in that the religious cleavage is being retranslated currently.