Sociala rörelser i rörelse - En analys av de jordlösas rörelses verksamhet i civilsamhället

This thesis analyses the rise and fall of social movements. Social movements functions in the civil society, by contentious collective action they form identities, mobilize their forces and use repertoires of contentions to make new or previously unaccepted claims. They function in a limited timeframe, sooner or later they get institutionalized, marginalised or succumb into violence. The landless movement in Brazil is one of the most profound social movements in the world; their major goal is a land reform. Since the leftwing president Lula da Silva won the Brazilian election in 2002 the president has been unable to live up to the expectations from the landless movement about implementing a land reform. Lula has continued with the neoliberal economic model and increased the production of grains for export controlled mainly by multinational companies. The thesis concludes that the landless movement has not been marginalised or fallen into the logic of violence mainly due to their great mobilization strength and their organizational impersonal structure. They have neither been able to persuade Lula to make a land reform, mainly because their vision has turned out to be too wide and require a complete rejection of the neoliberal market model