Impact of New Social Movements on the Power and Political Arena of Brazil and Argentina during 1960s to 1990s

Latin America has long been the birthplace of social movements. New social movements have emerged in the heart of the political space of those countries of the region that were dominated by the military regimes, and the relevance of these movements lies in their struggles on the way to democracy. Based on the Frankfurt school and using the theories of new social movements, this research has investigated the impact of these new social movements on the power relations in the political space of Brazil and Argentina, two powerful countries in the Latin American region. According to the Frankfurt school, new social movements are the product of the continuity of domination relations during modenism, especially late capitalism, and their main mission is to eliminate the mechanisms of supremacy and oppression. A descriptive-analytical study in the context of five new social movements, namely the women's movement, neighborhood associations and grassroots church groups in Brazil, human rights groups in Argentina and environmental activist associations in both countries shows that the deteriorating patterns of traditional political institutionalism during the 1960s to 1990s in Brazil and Argentina created a power vacuum, and consequently the new social movements of these two countries offered political alternatives based on the people's power. These movements not only challenged power relations, but also helped to the empowerment and politicization of the people at the local level, a process that continued with greater vigor in the following decades. In sum, these people-based power relations have created informal neighborhood and local networks, and supportive associations that in turn change and reinforce social life.