Police Fairness, Anger and Support for Violent and Non‐Violent Disruptive Actions in Chile

ABSTRACT Cross‐sectional research has shown that perceptions of injustice and their resultant emotions are associated with increased support for collective actions. In a three‐wave longitudinal study of Chilean citizens ( N T1 = 2611; N T2 = 1690; N T3 = 1163), using Random Intercept Cross‐Lagged Panel models, we examined the associations over time between perceived procedural justice of the police during protests, anger towards the police, and justification for non‐violent and violent disruptive actions during a period of de‐escalation of protests. Our analyses revealed that people who reported perceiving higher procedural justice at Time 1 (January 2021, 2 months after the referendum to change the constitution) expressed lower anger towards the police and lower justification of protesters' violent actions in Time 2 (August 2021, after the election of Constitutional representatives). These associations, however, were not significant between Time 2 and Time 3 (January 2022, following the election of Boric as president of Chile). Surprisingly, higher levels of anger towards the police in Time 2 predicted lower support for violent disruptive actions in Time 3. We interpret these results by considering the dynamic de‐escalation of the protests and the ongoing sociopolitical changes in Chile, highlighting the relevance of the context in the study of collective action.