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SOCIAL JUSTICE IN LATIN AMERICA 353

from the Zapatistas in Mexico to the landless interests appear to be less clear or direct
rural workers in Brazil. While each of these (Jordan, 2002). Some protest movements
movements has particular features, it is nev- seem to reach a critical mass through the
ertheless possible to observe a number of spontaneous aggregation of actors in the
common traits, as well as a clear-cut contrast streets and public spaces (which fits to a cer-
between them and the insurgent or resistance tain extent the category of ‘mass behaviour’),
movements of the Cold War era. The case of with no leaders, no organization, or a highly
Argentina’s Piqueteros – picketers who decentralized one, and with no specific polit-
block highways and bridges – is particularly ical aim. However, they have shown a sur-
telling. They form a movement of mostly prising level of cohesion in terms of the
urban unemployed and impoverished men actors’ stated motives, and they have given
and women who sometimes resort to civil rise to some innovative types of coordination
disobedience tactics in order to capture and cooperation. These features reveal both a
the attention of the government, the mass strong subjective component and a shared
media, and public opinion. But their funda- representation of the issues at stake. These
mental drive is to achieve autonomy and self- become apparent in the actors’ discourse.
organization (Armony, 2004). These new Interestingly, this transformation of social
social movements are more focused on ethical mobilization in Latin America seems to
issues and operate within the parameters of follow trends that can be observed in North
what Maria da Glória Gohn (2000: 36–7) America. In an empirical study of the chang-
calls an ‘individual citizenship’, linked to the ing nature of movement activity in Chicago
notion of ‘social rights’ – particularly over a 30-year period, McAdam, Sampson,
through the idea of social ‘services’ – and Weffer, and MacIndoe argue that ‘If socio-
to the actors’ subjective experience. As economic disadvantage increased the likeli-
Boaventura de Sousa Santos puts it, ‘the hood of protest in 1970, the reverse is true
emancipation that they fight for is one that today’ (2005: 15). Using data on some 4,000
aims at transforming [their] everyday life [...] collective civic events and public protests
here and now and not in a distant future’ between 1970 and 2000, they show that the
(2001: 178). recent period is characterized by more rou-
The surge of citizen mobilization in Latin tinized, less disruptive forms of demands.
America has led to a renewed interest in the Their research also suggests that the issues
symbolic dimension of social protest and the motivating public protest activity have grown
subjective aspects of social activism. more local over time. The data collected by
Although resource mobilization theory McAdam, Sampson, Weffer, and MacIndoe
(McAdam et al., 2001) is quite helpful in ‘lends empirical weight to those who have
regard to the understanding of how social theorized about the “institutionalization” of
movements rise, develop, and succeed protest and the rise of a “movement society”
(or fail), its focus on organization, strategy, in the US’ (2005: 16). While the differences
and outcomes tends to exclude the systematic between North America and Latin America
study of discourse. Protest movements that are still obviously significant, it is interesting
have been emerging in Latin America since to note that on both continents social mobi-
the mid-1990s defy conventional wisdom lization seems to be associated with a quest
about social mobilization. They show many for rights and recognition that is framed
features that are usually found in the so- in more local and individual terms, and not
called New Social Movements (Della Porta necessarily or uniquely related to economic
and Diani, 1999), but they also display some claims (Auyero, 2003). Most current mobi-
very distinctive traits. For example, the rela- lization in Latin America conveys a demand
tionships between reason and emotion or for inclusion in the political and economic
between material conditions and subjective system, rather than for its revolutionary