Discursive Arguments Around Disasters in History: The Case of Chile

This article reviews existing narratives and perspectives to the history of Chilean disasters in order to explore dominant discourses of disaster causation. Narratives based on historical records and media archives are examined and contrasted with contemporary notions in disaster and risk studies. In doing so, relevant Chilean disasters are devised to highlight the way that such events have been understood in the context of Chile, that is, as ‘natural' disasters. Although researchers have positively underlined the Chilean performance against extreme natural events, crucial deficiencies related to socio-political tensions and regional economic disparities that create an uneven distribution of disaster impacts are discussed. The ‘naturalness' of disasters is contested since it neglects the importance of socio-economic, cultural and political pre-conditions, which are crucial for explaining the impacts of disasters; deaths, economic losses, displacements, among others.