Cartographic narratives of spatial memories: Inscriptions of political violence and the infra-politics of the working class

Abstract

Space is central to the political, moral and affective inscription of violence as well as the infra-politics of subaltern groups. This article introduces a collaborative cartographic methodology to document and disseminate the spatial dynamics of dictatorial repression, its resistance and legacy, focusing on mass raids in working-class neighbourhoods during Chile’s Pinochet era (1973–1990). Through mapping interviews and cartographic exhibitions marking the 50th anniversary of the 1973 coup, this approach captures the relational, multiscalar and distributed nature of political violence targeting the working-class way of life, transforming marginalised memories into public knowledge. Cartographies enable the simultaneous visualisation of diverse actors’ trajectories and the spatial, affective, moral and political dimensions of this experience, going beyond the victim paradigm. By illuminating the complex relationship between the urban poor and the dictatorship, they enrich debates on spatial political violence and dictatorial disciplinary power, broadening the collective memory of past atrocities.