The following article is a statement about the way Chilean government reacted to the conflict raised by high school students practically along the whole first year of Bachelet's administration. Aside from trying to outline the causes which would be behind the erratic answer given by the authorities, the study intends to understand the position held by some of the sectors in government along with the political society in regard to the uprising of the social conflict. We think it is pertinent to build a new concept taking into account the Chilean and Latin-American experience. This concept is referred to what we call "hypergovernability", in other words, an excessive attachment to maintain governability by means of "anticipated solutions" of social demands. The current analysis of the various student movements indicates a fear, almost panic, in regard to social conflict, and a disproportionate concern of the State with peace and social cohesion.
social conflict; governability; democratic participation; student movement