ABSTRACT
The uneven and unstable imposition of neoliberal structures in the developing world begs the question: How does the ideological dimension of
neoliberalism work-and how is it contested-–in nations where poor people have borne the greatest costs of neoliberal structural reforms? While much has been written about the brutal structural effects of neoliberalism on poor communities within “developing” countries, these analyses usually focus on the decisions and conundrums of states. Because of the central role that ideology plays in neoliberal reforms, there is a need to understand how the ideological battle between neoliberalism and critical social justice work has been waged not simply upon but within the spaces of poor communities in the developing world, within the non-state, non-market sphere known as “civil society.” In Latin America, the struggle for consent within civil society is in fact a struggle to define the nature and role of civil society itself.
