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Coping with the Free Market City: Collective Action in Six Latin American Cities at the End of the Twentieth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2022

Bryan R. Roberts  and
Alejandro Portes
Bryan R. Roberts
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
Alejandro Portes
Affiliation:
Princeton University
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Abstract

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Major social and economic changes in Latin America brought about by adoption of the neoliberal model of development have been documented in the recent research literature. We ask to what extent such changes have affected the character of popular collective mobilizations in major cities of the region. We present data from six recent field studies in major Latin American cities that identify goals pursued by contemporary popular movements and organizations and the strategies they adopt to achieve them. These studies provide an overview of how urban society has reacted to the constraints, crises, and opportunities brought about by the new model of development and cast light on what has changed and what remains the same in determinants of popular collective demand-making in major metropolitan areas. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Resumen

Resumen

Los cambios económico-sociales significativos producidos en América Latina por la adopción del modelo de desarrollo neoliberal han sido documentados en la reciente literatura de investigación. Nos preguntamos hasta qué punto dichos cambios han afectado el carácter de las movilizaciones populares colectivas en las ciudades más importantes de la región. Presentamos información sobre seis estudios de campo recientes en importantes ciudades latinoamericanas que identifican metas que han sido perseguidas por movimientos y organizaciones populares contemporáneos, así como también las estrategias que éstos adoptan para conseguirlos. Estos estudios proveen una visión general de cómo la sociedad urbana ha reaccionado a las restricciones, crisis y oportunidades introducidos por el nuevo modelo de desarrollo e señalan lo que ha cambiado y lo que continúa igual en cuanto a los determinantes de la demanda popular colectiva en las áreas metropolitanas más importantes de la región. Se discuten, a su vez, las implicancias teóricas y prácticas de estos resultados.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 57 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 by the University of Texas Press

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