ABSTRACT
It is ironic that the very features of the crisis in the Southern Cone created important preconditions for women's collective action. The Southern Cone has been no exception. In Chile, women mobilized in the first half of the twentieth century during the suffrage movement, struggling to be incorporated into the political system. The struggle for democracy and political amnesty was linked to the struggle against the increasing cost of living and the struggle against injustices of marriage and life in the private sphere. Middle-class women organized, raising gender issues in connection with the struggle for democracy. The women's movement was composed of groups with diverse goals, organizational systems, and social compositions. Between 1964 and 1974, the Brazilian civil society organized in resistance to the authoritarian regime. Women's movements in Uruguay have questioned society's organization, demanded an extension of citizenship, and redefined the concepts of work, family, and personal relationships.
