1 Beyond Survival: Tracing Individual Empowerment Processes in a Poor Chilean Settlement Clàudia Turró EPUC Mariane Krause EPUC Abstract Based on the life histories of residents from La Victoria, a poor settlement in Santiago, Chile, this study reconstructed the central biographic elements in individual empowerment processes, linking them with the socio-cultural context in which they occurred. Results show the following main characteristics related to individual empowerment: identification with struggle; a positive attitude towards learning throughout life; the establishment of goals, with relevant