ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role of law in struggles for social change in Brazil, and it adopts the analytical framework known as ‘legal mobilization’ (Zemans 1983; McCann, 1994) or ‘collective legal mobilization’ (Scheingold 2004). The question addressed here is to what extent the mobilization strategy of social movements with respect to law is capable of achieving a reshaping of the distribution of power. It involves understanding whether law, a tool for social control and maintaining the status quo, historically appropriated by the ruling classes and at their service, can be used positively in the emancipatory struggles which seek to challenge oppressive social conditions and relationships.
