New and Old Forms of Social Movements: A Discussion from Brazil

This article discusses Brazilian social struggles in the last years with emphasis on the mass demonstrations that erupted in mid-2013 and the strikes and other labour protests somehow related to these events. It aims to demonstrate a connection between collective protests that apparently fit perfectly in the dominant characterisation of ‘new' social movements (horizontality, new social basis and leadership, diffuse rejection of the political order and the traditional forms of organisation, etc.) and traditional forms of struggle. It is also aimed at seeking a more totalising perspective, through a conceptual discussion in dialogue with the empirical analysis, focusing on debates about social class and forms of domination.