Abstract

QUIROGA, Francisca; GUERRERO, Néstor  and  SCHUSTER, Sofía. Public Discourse and Institutionalization of Political Conflict in Chile: The Case of Wage Adjustment in Public Sector (1990- 2014). Gest. polít. pública [online]. 2016, vol.25, n.1, pp.119-163. ISSN 1405-1079.

This paper analyzes public discourses of actors who participate in an institutionalized political conflict: the case of wage adjustment in Chilean public sector. Taking the historical and political trajectory of this conflict as framework, the evidence of 2010 (first year that negotiations were administrated by a center-right government rather than the center-left political coalition) and the year 2014 (when government declares evaluate the "institutionalization of collective negotiation for public sector") is specially illustrative because the diffusion of discourses and its expression in practices, institutions and administrative logics reflect a routinized mode of conflict management. The theoretical and methodological framework comes from critical discourse analysis. The selected case study is justified by the institutionalized nature of the conflict, the participation of actors from diverse fields (union, governmental, parliamentary) and relatively predictable political behavior, allowing to identify, organize and evaluate recurrent political strategies that serve as inputs for setting up stable political discourses over time. For this purpose, was made a systematization and analysis of press, complemented by a review of relevant documentation and interviews with union leaders who have participated in the public sector negotiation table.

Keywords : labor conditions; wages; salaries and benefits; unions; executive power; legislative power and legislative procedure; public administration.