ABSTRACT
The politics of deactivation is a neoliberal strategy, with urban activation being one of its tactics of mass deception. Micro institutions such as studios, collectives, labs, NGO's, corporations, cultural centres, labs and others, are the alibi to make the deactivating function seem as a collective product. The institutionalisation of the deactivating function is the key for the deactivator could cross the bridge between youth's passion and adult's seriousness. The deactivator turns political ideas into 'cool' words so that audiences, sponsors, and authorities can accept them. The problem with the deactivator, however, is not only related to the replacement of the politics of the street with an apolitical one, but also to the vision of society that is embedded in these operations. On behalf of cultural production, the deactivator happily and unconsciously promotes precarious forms of labour. The deactivating role of the young cultural elites is an old tale in Chilean history.
