ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the democratic dynamic unleashed by the presence of collective actors on the Brazilian public scene. Social movements are today at the core of Brazilian societal dilemmas. Indeed, they are at the center of the paradoxes that perplex those seeking to understand the uncertain trajectory of Brazil and the possibilities of a future project capable of articulating modernization, equality, and social justice. During the 1980s, in claims for rights, social movements were organized, labor unions were strengthened, and aspirations for a more just and egalitarian society took shape. Social movements are important because they constitute, in the conflictive terrain of social life, public arenas in which conflicts gain visibility and collective actors become valid spokespersons. Actors are seen as capable of constituting, through negotiation, a common, more just, and legitimate measure of the responsibilities and rights of economic life.
