Rural workers’ movements and democratisation in Brazil

Abstract
This article analyses how rural workers constitute themselves as collective political subjects through their participation in social movements. Their role in Brazil's ongoing political transition is evaluated in the context of the authoritarian rural power structures still entrenched in the political system. Rural social movements contribute to democratisation in two respects: as counterweights to authoritarian agrarian elites and the state at the local and regional levels, and as vehicles for transforming and strengthening the political identities of rural workers themselves. Their political capacity is currently limited, however, by their lack of strong ties to intermediate institutions such as unions and political parties.

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