Linking Subjective and Objective Political Opportunities. The Case of Transmilenio Shut Downs in Bogotá, Colombia.

• In Event: 463 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 14. Perception and Social Movement Participation

Abstract

In this paper I analyze protest dynamics in Bogotá between 1991 and 2011. Specifically, the investigation shows that the physical infrastructure of Bogotá’s massive transportation system, Transmilenio (TM), is not just useful for mass transportation, but a political platform used in collective contention. I draw from two main data sources to analyze the impact of TM shut downs on protest dynamics in Bogotá. First, I use data from a statistically representative survey conducted in 2011 in Bogotá. These data are used to test whether the respondents who report having joined a protest in the prior twelve months are the same individuals who perceive TM as an effective platform for protesting. In other words, I use this survey to understand whether activists in Bogotá attribute opportunity to TM shut downs or not. The second source of information is a set of interviews conducted in 2012 with a group of rickshaw drivers that have a history of using TM’s infrastructure as a platform for protesting. These two sources of data allow me to empirically link the subjective and objective components of the theory of political opportunities. My analyses also illuminate the emergence of a new protest tactic in Bogotá, which contributes to the literature on tactical innovation more broadly.

Author

• Diego Leal, University of Massachusetts-Amherst