Social Movements and the State: Political Power Dynamics in Latin America

Abstract

In Latin America, it is possible to identify three basic modalities of social change and political power: electoral politics, the construction of social movements, and social action in the direction of local development. But radical politics of mass mobilisation remains the indispensable condition for advancing the struggle for social change towards a new world of social justice and real development based on popular power. An analysis of events over recent years shows that the regional scene has become punctuated with new dynamics of change. This change is based on the advance of an alternative social or non-political approach associated with the rise of grassroots, community forms of social organisation and local development. This phenomenon constitutes a central issue in political developments across Latin America today. The authors have come to this conclusion on the basis of a systematic comparative analysis of the relationship between the state and social movements in four countries: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador.

Keywords

State Latin America Social Movements Political Parties Neoliberalism Argentina Brazil Bolivia Ecuador Revolution

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