Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T04:07:50.908Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Interpersonal Violence in Chile, c. 1880s–2010s: A Tale of Delayed but Successful Convergence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 February 2022

Rodrigo Rivero-Cantillano ,
Manuel Llorca-Jaña Open the ORCID record for Manuel Llorca-Jaña [Opens in a new window] ,
Damian Clarke ,
Javier Rivas ,
Daniel Quezada  and
Martina Allende
Rodrigo Rivero-Cantillano
Affiliation:
Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
Manuel Llorca-Jaña*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valparaíso, Santiago, Chile
Damian Clarke
Affiliation:
Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Javier Rivas
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valparaíso, Santiago, Chile
Daniel Quezada
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valparaíso, Santiago, Chile
Martina Allende
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valparaíso, Santiago, Chile
*
*Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We analyze the evolution of homicide rates in Chile, as a proxy of interpersonal violence, from the 1880s to the 2010s. Homicides rates are the best measure of a country’s personal security, and a key variable of well-being. We found that the homicides rates were high during the late nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth century. From the 1930s homicide rates started to decline initially gradually, but then sharply during the 1950s–1960s. During the 1960s–1990s, the country’s homicide rates were low by international standards. However, they have increased during the last two decades. Our regression suggests that increased social spending in the past is associated with reduced homicides in the present, that past and concurrent economic growth also correlates with a reduction in the rate of homicides, and that increased police presence is correlated with a reduction in the rate of homicides. The 1930s–1960s are a key period in the evolution of interpersonal violence. It coincides with the emergence of a welfare state (and increasing social expenditure), declining poverty rates, improvements in health and education, and an increase in suffrage.

Keywords

ViolenceconflictChilehomicide
Type
Research Article
Information
Social Science History , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , Summer 2022 , pp. 373 - 399
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Social Science History Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arancibia, Claudia, Cornejo, José, and González, Carolina (2013) Pena de Muerte en Chile Colonial: Cinco Casos de Homicidio de la Real Audiencia. RIL Editores.Google Scholar
Arellano, José P. (1985) Políticas Sociales y Desarrollo 1924–1984. CIEPLAN.Google Scholar
Baeza, Marianela (2016) “Pena de muerte y fusilamientos públicos en el siglo XX: caso ‘El Chacal de Nahueltoro.’” Memoria para optar el Titulo de Profesor de Educacion Media en Historia y Geografia, Universidad del Bio-Bio.Google Scholar
Barría, Diego (2015) “Rasgos burocráticos en las reformas administrativas en el Chile de la década de 1880.” Historia Critica 56: 61–84, https://doi.org/0.7440/histcrit56.2015.03.Google Scholar
Bascuñán, Aníbal, and De Ávila, Alamiro (1941) Notas Para el Estudio de la Criminalidad y la Penología en Chile Colonial 1673–1818.Google Scholar
Baten, Jörg, Bierman, Winny, Foldvari, Peter, and Van Zanden, Jan L. (2014) “Personal security since 1820,” in Van Zanden, Jan L., Jörg Baten, Marco Mira d’Ercole, Rijpma, Auke, Smith, Conal, and Timmer, Marcel (eds.) How Was Life? Global Well-Being since 1820. OECD Publishing, 140–58.Google Scholar
Bértola, Luís, and Ocampo, José A. (2012) The Economic Development of Latin America since Independence. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Brangier, Victor M. (2011) “Justicia criminal en Chile, 1842–1906 ¿Debido proceso o contención social?” Revista Sociedad & Equidad 1 (1): 3–26, https://doi.org/10.5354/0718-9990.2011.10606.Google Scholar
Cáceres, Juan (2000) “Crecimiento económico, delitos y delincuencia en una sociedad en transformación: Santiago en la segunda mitad del siglo XX.” Revista de Historia de las Mentalidades 4 (1): 4–32.Google Scholar
Campos, Fernando (1984) “El sufragio en Chile, 1810–1980.” Política: Revista de Ciencias Políticas (6): 9–61, https://doi.org/0.5354/0716-1077.2019.55407.Google Scholar
Cantor, David, and Cohen, Lawrence E. (1980) “Comparing measures of homicide trends: Methodological and substantive differences in the vital statistics and uniform crime report time series.” Social Science Research 9 (1): 121–45, https://doi.org/10.1016/0049-089X(80)90002-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cea, Macarena, Ruiz, Paulina, and Matus, Jean P. (2006) “Determinantes de la criminalidad. Revisión bibliográfica.” Política Criminal 2 (4): 1–34.Google Scholar
Cleaves, Peter S. (1974) Bureaucratic Politics and Administration in Chile. University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corvalán, Luis (2008) Los Comunistas y la Democracia. LOM.Google Scholar
Díaz, José, Lüders, Rolf, and Wagner, Gert (2016) Chile, 1810–2010: La República en Cifras. Ediciones UC.Google Scholar
Droguett, Carlos (1940) Los Asesinados del Seguro Obrero. Editorial Ercilla.Google Scholar
Durkheim, Émile (1992) Professional Ethics and Civic Morals, 2nd ed. Routledge.Google Scholar
Eisner, Manuel (2003a) “Long-term historical trends in violent crime.” Crime and Justice 30: 83–142, https://doi.org/10.1086/652229 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisner, Manuel (2003b) “The long-term development of violence: Empirical findings and theoretical approaches to interpretation,” in Heitmeyer, Wilhelm and Hagan, John (eds.) International Handbook of Violence Research. Springer: 41–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisner, Manuel (2008) “Modernity strikes back? The latest increase of interpersonal violence (1960–1990) in a historical perspective.” International Journal of Conflict and Violence 2 (2): 288–316, https://doi.org/10.4119/ijcv-2769 Google Scholar
Eisner, Manuel (2011) “Killing kings: Patterns of regicide in Europe, AD 600–1800.” The British Journal of Criminology 51 (3): 556–77, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azr004.Google Scholar
Eisner, Manuel (2013) “What causes large-scale variation in homicide rates?,” in Kortüm, Hans H., and Heinze, Jürgen (eds.) Aggression in Humans and Other Primates. De Gruyter: 137–62.Google Scholar
Elias, Norbert (1982) The Civilizing Process. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ensor, Tim, and Godfrey, Christine (1993) “Modelling the interactions between alcohol, crime and the criminal justice system.” Addiction 88 (4): 477–87, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02054.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Estay, Juan G., and Monteverde, Alessandro (2017) “La criminalidad como tema historiográfico: Chile en el siglo XIX.” Revista Espiga 16 (33): 131–47, https://doi.org/10.22458/re.v16i33.1767.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estefane, Andrés (2004) “‘Un alto en el camino para saber cuántos somos…’: Los censos de población y la construcción de lealtades nacionales. Chile, siglo XIX.” Historia 37 (1): 33–59, https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-71942004000100002.Google Scholar
Estefane, Andrés (2019) “Bureaucracy and state knowledge: On the production of statistics in Chile (1750s–1870s).” Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevos, www.journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/76841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fajnzylber, Pablo, Lederman, Daniel, and Loayza, Norman (1998) Determinants of Crime Rates in Latin America and the World: An Empirical Assessment. World Bank.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fajnzylber, Pablo, Lederman, Daniel, and Loayza, Norman (2002a) “Inequality and violent crime.” The Journal of Law & Economics 15 (1): 1–40, https://doi.org/10.1086/338347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fajnzylber, Pablo, Lederman, Daniel, and Loayza, Norman (2002b) “What causes violent crime?” European Economic Review 46 (1): 1323–57, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-2921(01)00096-4.Google Scholar
Faúndez, Julio (2007) Democratization, Development, and Legality: Chile, 1831–1973. Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández, Marcos (2006) “Los usos de la taberna: renta fiscal, combate al alcoholismo y cacicazgo político en Chile, 1870–1930.” Historia 39 (2): 369–430, https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-71942006000200002.Google Scholar
Fundación Paz Ciudadana (1999) Caracterización del Homicidio en Chile. Fundación Paz Ciudadana.Google Scholar
Galdámes, Luís (1903) La Lucha Contra el Crimen. Imprenta Blanchard-Chessi.Google Scholar
Gerson, Lowell W., and Preston, Donald A. (1979) “Alcohol consumption and the incidence of violent crime.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol 40 (3): 307–12, https://doi.org/10.15288/jsa.1979.40.307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goicovic, Igor (2004) “Consideraciones teóricas sobre la violencia social en Chile.” Revista Última Década 12 (21): 121–45, https://doi.org/0.4067/S0718-22362004000200006.Google Scholar
Grez, Sergio (1997) De la “Regeneración del Pueblo” a la Huelga General. Génesis y Evolución Histórica del Movimiento Popular en Chile (1810–1890). DIBAM.Google Scholar
Gurr, Ted R. (1981) “Historical trends in violent crime: A critical review of the evidence.” Crime Justice 3 (1): 295–353, jstor.org/stable/1147382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurr, Ted R. (1989) “Historical trends in violent crime: Europe and the United States,” in Gurr, Ted R. (ed.) Violence in America. Vol. I, The History of Crime. Sage: 21–54.Google Scholar
Gust, Sarah, and Baten, Jörg (2019). Interpersonal violence in South Asia, 900–1900. Working Paper, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen.Google Scholar
Henríquez, Rodrigo (2014) En Estado Sólido. Políticas y Politización en la Construcción Estatal Chile 1920–1950. Ediciones UC.Google Scholar
Islas, Pablo (2017) Orden y Patria es Nuestro Lema. Construcción de Alteridad en la Gramática del Legalismo y del Enemigo Interno en Chile. Ediciones UDP.Google Scholar
Johnson, Eric A. (1992) “Cities don’t cause crime: Urban-rural differences in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century German criminality.” Social Science History 16 (1): 129–76, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0145553200021404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lappi-Seppälä, Tapio, and Lehti, Martti (2014) “Cross-comparative perspectives on global homicide trends.” Crime and Justice 43 (1): 135–230, https://doi.org/10.1086/677979.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
León, Marco A. (2001) “Criminalidad y prisión en la Araucanía chilena, 1852–1911.” Revista de Historia Indígena 5 (1): 135–60.Google Scholar
León, Marco A. (2003) “Los dilemas de una sociedad cambiante: criminología, criminalidad y justicia en Chile contemporáneo, 1911–1965.” Revista Chilena de Historia del Derecho 19 (1): 223–77, https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-5451.2012.23262.Google Scholar
Lightowlers, Carly, Pina-Sánchez, Jose, and McLaughlin, Fiona (2021) “The role of deprivation and alcohol availability in shaping trends in violent crime.” European Journal of Criminology, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708211036081.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
López, Elvira (2013) El Proceso de Construcción Estatal en Chile. Hacienda Pública y Burocracia (1817–1860). DIBAM.Google Scholar
López, Elvira (2017) “El proceso de formación de la burocracia estatal chilena, 1810–1930,” in Jaksic, Iván and Rengifo, Francisca (eds.) Historia Política de Chile. Volume 2. FCE: 55–86.Google Scholar
Loveman, Mara (2014) National Colors: Racial Classification and the State in Latin America. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mares, Dennis (2009) “Civilization, economic change, and trends in interpersonal violence in western societies.” Theoretical Criminology 13 (4): 419–49, https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480609340401.Google Scholar
Monkkonen, Eric H. (2005) “Homicide in Los Angeles, 1827–2002.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 36 (2): 167–83, https://doi.org/10.2307/1144245 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monkkonen, Eric H. (2006) “Homicide: Explaining America’s exceptionalism.” The American Historical Review 111 (1): 76–94, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.111.1.76 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Monteverde, Alessandro R. (2008) Crimen y Delincuencia en Aconcagua 1800–1850. Ediciones de la Facultad de Humanidades de la Universidad de Playa Ancha.Google Scholar
Murdoch, Douglas, and Ross, Deborah (1990). “Alcohol and crimes of violence: Present issues.” International Journal of the Addictions 25 (9): 1065–81, https://doi.org/10.3109/10826089009058873.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
OECD (2011) “Personal security,” in OECD (ed.) How’s Life? Measuring Well-Being. OECD Publishing.Google Scholar
Oficina Central de Estadísticas (1880–1888) Sinopsis Estadística y Jeográfica de la República de Chile. Imprenta del Universo de Guillermo Helfmann.Google Scholar
Pérez, Juan I. (2010) “Los censos chilenos de población (1854–1920). Análisis crítico de las fuentes de datos censales y sugerencias de uso.” Boletín de la Academia Chilena de la Historia 119 (1): 55–95.Google Scholar
Prados de la Escosura, Leandro (2007) “Inequality and poverty in Latin America: A long-run exploration.” in Hatton, Timothy, O’Rourke, Kevin H., and Taylor, Alan M. (eds.) The New Comparative Economic History. MIT Press: 291–315.Google Scholar
Médica de Chile, Revista (1892) “Alcoholismo y criminalidad.” Revista Médica de Chile 20 (112): 191–97.Google Scholar
Rodríguez, Javier (2017) Desarrollo y Desigualdad en Chile (1850–2009). Historia de su Economía Política. Centro de Investigaciones Diego Barros Arana.Google Scholar
Roth, Randolph (2001) “Homicide in Early Modern England, 1549–1800: The need for a quantitative synthesis.” Crime, History, and Societies 5 (1): 33–67, https://doi.org/10.4000/chs.737.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roth, Randolph (2011) “Biology and the deep history of homicide.” The British Journal of Criminology 51 (3): 535–55, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azr029.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salazar, Gabriel (2006) La Violencia Política Popular en las “Grandes Alamedas”: La Violencia en Chile, 1947–1987. LOM.Google Scholar
Saridakis, George (2004) “Violent crime in the United States of America: A time-series analysis between 1960–2000.” European Journal of Law and Economics 18 (2): 203–21, https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJLE.0000045082.09601.b2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saridakis, George (2011) “Violent crime and incentives in the long-run: Evidence from England and Wales.” Journal of Applied Statistics 38 (4): 647–60, https://doi.org/10.1080/02664760903563619.Google Scholar
Silva, Patricio (2008) En el Nombre de la Razón: Tecnócratas y Política en Chile. Ediciones UDP.Google Scholar
Thome, Helmut (1995) “Modernization and crime: What is the explanation?” IAHCCJ Bulletin 20 (1): 31–47, jstor.org/stable/43658188.Google Scholar
Thome, Helmut (2001) “Explaining long-term trends in violent crime.” Crime, History, and Society 5 (2): 69–86, doi: 10.4000/chs.738.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations (2010) “State of crime and criminal justice worldwide.” Opening of Twelfth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Salvador, Brazil, April 12–19.Google Scholar
Urzúa, German (1970) Evolución de la Administración Pública Chilena (1818–1968). Editorial Jurídica de Chile.Google Scholar
Urzúa, German (1992) Historia Política de Chile y su Evolución Electoral: desde 1810 a 1992. Editorial Jurídica de Chile.Google Scholar
Urzúa, German, and García, Ana M. (1971) Diagnóstico de la Burocracia Chilena (1818–1969). Editorial Jurídica de Chile.Google Scholar
Valenzuela, Arturo, and Valenzuela, Samuel (1983) “Los orígenes de la democracia. Reflexiones teóricas sobre el caso de Chile.” Estudios Públicos 12 (1): 7–39.Google Scholar
Ventresca, Marc J. (1995) When states count: Institutional and political dynamics in modern census establishment, 1800–1993. Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Vitale, Luís (1993) Interpretación Marxista de la Historia de Chile. LOM.Google Scholar
Zilleruelo, Cesar E. (1909) El Alcoholismo en Chile y su Relación con la Criminalidad y la Locura. Imprenta y Encuadernación Universitaria.Google Scholar