ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that, from the Latin American perspective, some of the predominating tendencies in the relations between technology and society. It examines the emergence of these new forms of social struggle, which are also questioning and constructive, that are called social movements. The social movements in Latin America combined, with different intensities, three basic orientations in their action: social modernization, national autonomy and industrialization. The crisis has clearly revealed a high degree of asymmetrical interdependency between central capitalist countries' economy and policy and those of peripheral societies. The development models attempted in the region were linked to technological forms which assumed particular social and economic configurations in Latin America. Industrialization in the region was characterized by the formal reproduction of trends which proved to be functional in advanced countries' conditions. Some social actors have shown a certain capacity of denoucement, criticism, struggle and management to favor stronger criteria of technological rationalization.
