Social movements in Latin America and the questions of class analysis

Abstract

Social upheavals are occurring with greater intensity across Latin America in recent years. While specifics vary between countries, they share common features: (1) they arise in response to adverse socio-economic conditions caused by prevailing neoliberal policies; (2) are led by social movements composed of rural peasants, indigenous peoples and urban workers excluded from party-institutional structures; and (3) are increasingly challenging for state power.

The paper examines various analytical frameworks, including post-modernism, structuralist class analysis, and the 'community development' model, used to interpret these struggles in theory, and influence their course in practice. The role of NGOs in Latin America as intermediaries between international finance capital and the rural and urban poor in these countries, is also discussed.

The primary case study focuses on the popular resistance movement which has recently shaken Bolivia. The landless movement in Brazil, the Bolivarian Revolution (Venezuela), the unemployed movements in Argentina, the Colombian insurgency, and indigenous struggle in Ecuador are also examined.

The thesis concludes that a structural approach, based on class analysis, is the most effective framework to provide a clear understanding of the dynamics of these Latin American movements and struggles.