The Effects of Multi-Grievance Mass Protests on Individual Attitudes

Abstract Recent mass protests around the world share a common characteristic: they encompass multiple grievances. This complexity can make it challenging for the protesters’ demands to effectively influence people’s beliefs. We study the impact of the massive protests in 2019 in Colombia on individual attitudes closely related to the protesters’ demands. A range of grievances drove these protests. Using a unique panel dataset, our findings reveal that protests only change individuals’ beliefs regarding some core issues. Specifically, the protests only affect more immediate issues that receive substantial media attention (human-rights support), as well as political attitudes (party sympathy) that are typically influenced by protests. However, they do not affect attitudes related to long-standing structural issues highlighted by the protesters (income distribution and clientelism) nor do they influence structural political attitudes (appreciation for democracy and ideology). JEL Codes: D72, D73, D74, D91, K38.