Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T19:47:35.323Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

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

References

Alvarez, Sonia E., Dagnino, Evelina, and Escobar, Arturo 1998 Cultures of Politics/Politics of Cultures: Re-visioning Latin American Social Movements. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Ariza, Marina, and Ramírez, Juan Manuel 2004 “Urbanización, mercados de trabajo, y escenarios sociales en el México Finisecular.” Working Paper 04-04f.2, Center for Migration and Development (CMD), Princeton University. http://cmd.princeton.edu/papers.shtml (accessed November 5, 2005).Google Scholar
Arriagada, Irmã, and Godoy, Lorena 2000 “Prevention or Repression? The False Dilemma of Citizen Security.” CEPAL Review 70 (April):111–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Auyero, Javier 2001 La política de los pobres. Las prácticas clientelistas del peronismo. Buenos Aires: Manantial.Google Scholar
Birbeck, Chris 1979 “Garbage, Industry, and the ‘Vulture’ of Cali, Colombia.” In Casual Work and Poverty in Third World Cities, edited by Bromley, R. and Gerry, C., 161–183. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Blondet, Cecilia 1991 Las mujeres y el poder: Una historia de Villa El Salvador. Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos.Google Scholar
Bresser Pereira, L. 1999 “Managerial Public Administration: Strategy and Structure for a New State.” In Reforming the State: Managerial Public Administration in Latin America, edited by Pereira, L. Bresser and Spink, P., 1–14. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caldeira, Teresa Pires do Rio 2000 City of Walls: Crime, Segregation, and Citizenship in Sao Paulo. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calderon G., Fernando, and Jelin, Elizabeth, Eds. 1986 Los movimientos sociales ante la crisis. Buenos Aires: Universidad de las Naciones Unidas.Google Scholar
Castells, Manuel 1983 The City and the Grassroots: A Cross-Cultural Theory of Urban Social Movements. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Centeno, Miguel Angel, and Portes, Alejandro 2006 “The Informal Economy in the Shadow of the State.” In Out of the Shadows: The Informal Economy and Political Movements in Latin America, edited by Fernández-Kelly, Patricia and Sheffner, Jon. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Cerrutti, Marcela, and Grimson, Alejandro 2004 “Buenos Aires, neoliberalismo y después: Cambios socioeconómicos y respuestas populares.” Working Paper 04–04d.2, Center for Migration and Development, Princeton University. http://cmd.princeton.edu/papers.shtml (accessed November 5, 2005).Google Scholar
Collier, David 1976 Squatters and Oligarchs: Authoritarian Rule and Policy Change in Peru. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Cornelius, Wayne 1975 Politics and the Migrant Poor in Mexico City. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Dagnino, Evelina 2004 “Sociedade civil, participação e cidadania: De que estamos falando?” In Políticas de ciudadanía y sociedad civil en tiempos de globalización, coordinated by Mato, Daniel and Garcia, Illia, 95–110. Caracas: Universidad de Venezuela.Google Scholar
Degregori, Carlos Ivan, Blondet, Cecilia, and Lynch, Nicolas 1986 Conquistadores de un Nuevo Mundo: De invasores a ciudadanos en San Martin de Porres. Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos.Google Scholar
Dietz, Henry 1977 “Bureaucratic Demand-making and Clientelistic Participation in Peru.” In Authoritarianism and Corporatism in Latin America, edited by Malloy, James, 413–458. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Eckstein, Susan 1977 The Poverty of Revolution: The State and the Urban Poor in Mexico. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Eckstein, Susan, ed. 2001 Power and Popular Protest: Latin American Social Movements. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Edwards, Michael, and Hulme, David, eds. 1997 NGOs, State and Donors: Too Close for Comfort?“ New York: St. Martin's PressGoogle Scholar
Escobar, Arturo, and Alvarez, Sonia E. 1992 The Making of New Social Movements in Latin America. Boulder: Westview.Google Scholar
Evans, Peter 1996 “Government Action, Social Capital and Development: Reviewing the Evidence on Synergy.” World Development 24 (6): 1119–1132.Google Scholar
Filgueira, Carlos 1986 “Movimientos sociales en la restauración del orden democrático: Uruguay 1985.” In Los movimientos sociales ante la crisis, compiled by Calderón, Fernando, 62–102. Buenos Aires: CLACSO.Google Scholar
Fortuna, Juan Carlos, and Prates, Suzanna 1989 “Informal Sector Versus Informalized Labor Relations in Uruguay.” In The Informal Economy: Studies in Advanced and Less Developed Countries, edited by Portes, A., Castells, M., and Benton, L. A., 78–94. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Foweraker, Joe 2004 “Towards a Political Sociology of Social Mobilization in Latin America.” In Rethinking Latin American Development, edited by Wood, Charles and Roberts, Bryan, 115–35. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Foweraker, Joe, and Landman, Todd 1997 Citizen Rights and Social Movements. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Fox, Jonathan 1996 “How does Civil Society Thicken?” World Development 24 (6): 1089–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franco, R. 1996 “Social Policy Paradigms in Latin America.” CEPAL Review 58:9–23Google Scholar
Freire-Medeiros, Bianca, and Chinelli, Filippina 2003 “Favela e redes solidárias: Formas contemporãneas de mobilização e organização popular no Rio de Janeiro.” Working Paper #02-BRA-01, Center for the Study of Urbanization and Internal Migration, Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. http://www.prc.utexas.edu/urbancenter/ (accessed November 4, 2005).Google Scholar
Germani, Gino 1965 “Hacia una democracia de masas.” In Argentina: sociedad de masas, edited by G. G. T. S. di Tella, and Graciarena, J., 206–27. Buenos Aires: Eudeba.Google Scholar
González Bombai, Inés 1989 Los vecinazos. Las protestas barriales en el Gran Buenos Aires, 1982–83. Buenos Aires: Ides.Google Scholar
González Bombai, Inés 2002 “Sociabilidad en clases medias en descenso: Experiencias en el trueque,” in Sociedad y Sociabilidad en la Argentina de los 90, 1st ed., edited by Becario, Luis, et al., 97–136. Buenos Aires: Biblos.Google Scholar
González Meyer, Raúl 1999 “Relaciones ONGs-estado en Chile: Aportes para un balance de la década del 90.” Revista de Economía y Trabajo 9: 199–223.Google Scholar
Grindle, Merilee 2000 Audacious Reforms, Institutional Invention and Democracy in Latin America. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins.Google Scholar
James, Daniel, ed. 2003 Nueva Historia Argentina. Vol. 9. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana.Google Scholar
Jelin, Elizabeth, ed. 1985 Los nuevos movimientos sociales. Vol. 2. Buenos Aires: Centro Editorial de América Latina.Google Scholar
Kaztman, Ruben, Ávila, Soledad, Baraibar, Ximena, and Errandonea, Fernando 2003 “Modalidades de participación popular urbana en los 90: Los asentamientos irregulares en el área metropolitana de Montevideo.” Working Paper # 02-UR-02, Center for the Study of Urbanization and Internal Migration, Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. http://www.prc.utexas.edu/urbancenter/ (accessed November 4, 2005).Google Scholar
Leeds, Anthony 1974 “Housing Settlement Types, Arrangements for Living, Proletarianization and the Social Structure of the City.” In Latin American Urban Research 4, edited by Cornelius, Wayne and Trueblood, Felicity, 67–99. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Machado da Silva, Luis 1967 “A política na favela.” Cadernos Brasileiros 41: 35–47.Google Scholar
Marcus, Ben 2004 Growth without Equity: Inequality, Social Citizenship, and the Neoliberal Model of Development in Chile. PhD diss., University of Texas at Austin.Google Scholar
Márquez, Francisca 2003 “Identidad y fronteras urbanas en Santiago de Chile.” Psicologia em Revista 10 (14): 35–51.Google Scholar
Márquez, B. Francisca 2004 “Márgenes y ceremonial: Los pobladores y las políticas de vivienda social en Chile.” Revista Política de la Universidad de Chile 43: 185–203.Google Scholar
McAdam, Doug, McCarthy, John D., and Zald, Mayer, eds. 1996 Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, Joan M. 1979 Access to Power: Politics and the Urban Poor in Developing Nations. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Oxhorn, Philip 1995 Organizing Civil Society: The Popular Sectors and the Struggle for Democracy in Chile. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Paley, Julia 2001 Marketing Democracy: Power and Social Movements in Post-dictatorship Chile. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Pereyra, Omar 2003 “Del barrio y del crimen. El orden y el pánico frente a la criminalidad en Nuevo Pachacútec.” Working Paper #02-UR-02, Center for the Study of Urbanization and Internal Migration, Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. http://www.prc.utexas.edu/urbancenter/ (accessed November 4, 2005).Google Scholar
Perlman, Janice 1976 The Myth of Marginality. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Portes, Alejandro 1972 “Rationality in the Slum: An Essay in Interpretative Sociology.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 14 (3): 268–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portes, Alejandro, and Hoffman, Kelly 2003 “Latin American Class Structures: Their Composition and Change during the Neoliberal Era. Latin American Research Review 38 (1): 41–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portes, Alejandro, and Roberts, Bryan 2005 “Free Market City.” Studies in Comparative International Development 40 (1): 43–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Portes, Alejandro, and Walton, John 1976 Urban Latin America: The Political Conditions from Above and Below. Austin: University of Texas Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Primavera, Heloisa 2001 “Redes del trueque en America Latina: ¿Quo vadis?” In CD-ROM database, Jornada nacional trueque y economía solidaria, 6 September 2002. Universidad Nacional General Sarmiento, Instituto del Conurbano. Also available from http://www.urbared.ungs.edu.ar.Google Scholar
Ramirez Saiz, Juan Manuel 1986 El movimiento urbano popular en Mexico. Mexico, D.F.: Siglo XXI.Google Scholar
Ramirez Saiz, Juan Manuel 2003 “Impacto urbano de las organizaciones populares en México, 1980–2002.” Working Paper #02-MEX-02. Center for the Study of Urbnization and Internal Migration, Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. http://www.prc.utexas.edu/urbancenter/ (accessed November 4, 2005).Google Scholar
Roberts, Bryan 1978 Cities of Peasants: The Political Economy of Urbanization in the Third World. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Roberts, Bryan 1996 “The Social Context of Citizenship in Latin America.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 20 (1): 38–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, Kenneth M. 1997 “Beyond Romanticism: Social Movements and the Study of Political Change in Latin America.” Latin American Research Review 32 (2): 137–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, Kenneth M. 2002 “Social Inequalities without Class Cleavages in Latin America's Neoliberal Era.” Studies in Comparative International Development 36 (4): 3–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabatini, Francisco 2003 “La segregación social del espacio en las ciudades de América Latina.” Serie Azul. Instituto de Estudios Urbanos y Territoriales, Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Estudios Urbanos, Universidad Pontificia Catolica de Chile.Google Scholar
Sabatini, Francisco, and Wormald, Guillermo 2004 “Santiago de Chile bajo la nueva economia, 1980–2000: Crecimiento, modernización y oportunidades de integración social.” Working Paper #04-04a.2, Center for Migration and Development, Princeton University. http://cmd.princeton.edu/papers.shtml (accessed November 5, 2005).Google Scholar
Salamon, Lester, and Anheier, Helmut 1997 “The Challenge of Definition: Thirteen Realities in Search of a Concept.” In Defining the Non-Profit Sector: A Cross-national Analysis, edited by Salamon, Lester M. and Anheier, Helmut K., 11–28. New York: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
Santos, Carlos Nelson Ferreira dos 1981 Movimentos urbanos no Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar.Google Scholar
Semán, Pablo 2000 “El pentecostalismo y la religiosidad de los sectores populares.” In Desde abajo: La transformación de las identidades sociales, edited by Svampa, M., 155–80. Buenos Aires: Biblos.Google Scholar
Skocpol, Theda 1979 States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Slater, David, ed. 1985 New Social Movements and the State in Latin America. Amsterdam: CEDLA.Google Scholar
Tarrow, Sidney 1994 Power in Movement. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tendler, Judith 1997 Good Government in the Tropics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Tilly, Charles 1978 From Mobilization to Revolution. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Tilly, Charles 1984 Big Structures, Large Processes, Huge Comparisons. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Tilly, Charles 1986 The Contentious French. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Tironi, Manuel 2003 Nueva pobreza urbana: Vivienda y capital social en Santiago de Chile, 1985–2001. Santiago: Universidad de Chile y Ril Editores.Google Scholar
Touraine, Alain 1987 Actores sociales y sistemas politicos en America Latina. Santiago de Chile: PREALC.Google Scholar
Villalón, Roberta 2002 Piquetes, Cacerolazos y Asambleas Vecinales: Social Protests in Argentina, 1993–2002. M.A. Thesis, University of Texas at Austin.Google Scholar
Walton, John 1998 “Urban Conflict and Social Movements in Poor Countries: Theory and Evidence of Collective Action.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 22: 460–481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, Peter M. 1998 Mexico City. 2nd ed. Chichester, UK: Wiley.Google Scholar
Ward, Peter M. 2005 “The Lack of ‘Cursive Thinking’ Within Social Theory and Public Policy: Four Decades of Marginality and Rationality in the So-Called Slum.” In Rethinking Development in Latin America, edited by Wood, Charles and Roberts, Bryan, 271–96. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Willis, E., Garman, C., and Haggard, S. 1999 “The Politics of Decentralization in Latin America.” Latin American Research Review 34 (1): 7–56.Google Scholar
Wise, Carol 2003 Reinventing the State: Economic Strategy and Institutional Change in Peru. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Bank 2003 World Development Report: Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.Google Scholar