Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2015

Handbook of Social Movements across Latin America

  • Offers a rich resource on the politics of mass mobilization in the early twenty-first century
  • Includes examinations of the rise of left leaning governments in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru and Bolivia
  • This multidisciplinary volume extends the story of social and political change in Latin America

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research (HSSR)

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (25 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
  2. Introduction: Movements Across Latin America

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Social Movements Across Latin America

      • Paul Almeida, Allen Cordero Ulate
      Pages 3-10
  3. Conceptual and Theoretical Advances

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11
    2. Social Movements and Progressive Regimes in Latin America: World Revolutions and Semiperipheral Development

      • Christopher Chase-Dunn, Alessandro Morosin, Alexis Álvarez
      Pages 13-23
  4. Critical Themes in Contemporary Popular Mobilization

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 77-77
    2. Women’s Movements in Latin America

      • Lynn Horton
      Pages 79-87
    3. Latin American Social Movements and the Social Forum Process

      • Ian Breckenridge-Jackson, Natasha Radojcic, Ellen Reese, Elizabeth Schwarz, Christopher Vito
      Pages 89-100
    4. Liberation Theology and Social Movements

      • Robert Mackin
      Pages 101-116
  5. Indigenous-Based Struggles Across the Continent

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 129-129
  6. Urban-Based Movements in South America

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 177-177
    2. It Takes Two to Tango: Students, Political Parties, and Protest in Chile (2005–2013)

      • Marisa von Bülow, Germán Bidegain Ponte
      Pages 179-194
    3. Urban Social Movements in Venezuela

      • Sujatha Fernandes
      Pages 195-204

About this book

This handbook covers social movement activities in Latin American countries that have had profound consequences on the political culture of the region. It examines the developments of the past twenty years, such as a renewed upswing in popular mobilization, the ending of violent conflicts and military governments, new struggles and a relatively more democratic climate. It shows that, from southern Chiapas to Argentina, social movements in the 1990s and especially in the 2000s, have reached new heights of popular participation. There is a lack of research on the politics of this region in the contemporary era of globalization, this volume partially fills the void and offers a rich resource to students, scholars and the general public in terms of understanding the politics of mass mobilization in the early twenty-first century. The contributors each address social movement activity in their own nation and together they present a multidisciplinary perspective on the topic. Each chapter uses a case study design to bring out the most prominent attributes of the particular social struggle(s), for instance the main protagonists in the campaigns, the grievances of the population and the outcomes of the struggles. This Handbook is divided into seven substantive themes, providing overall coherence to a broad range of social conflicts across countries, issues and social groups. These themes include: 1) theory of Latin American social movements; 2) neoliberalism; 3) indigenous struggles; 4) women’s movements; 5) movements and the State; 6) environmental movements; and 7) transnational mobilizations.

Editors and Affiliations

  • School of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts, University of California, Merced, USA

    Paul Almeida

  • FLACSO-Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica

    Allen Cordero Ulate

About the editors

Paul Almeida is a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Merced. His research centers on social movements. Almeida’s articles have appeared in the American Journal of Sociology, Mobilization, Social Forces, Social Problems, and other scholarly outlets. He is author of Mobilizing Democracy: Globalization and Citizen Protest (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014); Waves of Protest: Popular Struggle in El Salvador, 1925-2005 (University of Minnesota Press 2008) and co-editor with Hank Johnston of Latin American Social Movements: Globalization, Democratization and Transnational Networks (Rowman & Littlefield 2006). His research has been funded by the World Society Foundation and the Fulbright Scholars Program. Almeida serves on the editorial advisory boards of Anuario de Estudios CentroamericanosLatin American Perspectives, Mobilization, Research in Political Sociology, Social Forces, and Sociologyof Development. He is a Council member for the Global and Transnational Sociology section and Chair-Elect of the section on the Political Economy of the World System (PEWS) of the American Sociological Association. 

Allen Cordero Ulate was born in Tres Ríos, Costa Rica. He attended the University of Costa Rica and studied sociology in the mid 1970s. He participated in diverse social movements as well as the resistance against the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua between 1978 and 1979. Since 1993 he has worked as a professor and researcher at FLACSO-Costa Rica. In 2003, he earned his doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Costa Rica. Since 2005, he has served as a professor in Sociology at the University of Costa Rica teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Social Movements and Research Methods. Dr. Cordero has also held a visiting Professorship at the Institut des Hautes Etudes de l’Amérique Latine (IHEAL) de París 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle. In the field of social movements his research focuses on environmental, indigenous, and peasant movements. He is the author of several articles and books, including: Nuevos ejes de acumulación y naturaleza: el caso del turismo (CLACSO 2006) and El Paradigma Inconcluso. Kuhn y la Sociología en América Latina (FLACSO Guatemala 2008 and EUCR, 2011).

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access