A Tale of Three Cities: Class and Politics in Brazil's June Days and Beyond

• In Event: 212 - Section on Inequality, Poverty and Mobility Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 09. Policy and Politics I

Abstract

What was at stake in Brazil’s 2013-2014 cycle of urban protests? Many observers were initially optimistic about the meaning of June 2013. According to many observers, the beauty of Brazil’s so-called June Days—the country’s largest uprising since the fall of the dictatorship 25 years prior—were that they were horizontal, leaderless, and purportedly apolitical. The estimated one million who filled the streets in over 350 cities brought contradictory demands. One common thread, however, seemed to be the protestors’ disillusionment with all forms of organized politics, from parties to unions; from NGOs to traditional social movements. This paper begins to investigate how inclusive, politicized, and significant the demonstrations were, and under what conditions we might have expected different outcomes.

Author

• Elizabeth McKenna, University of California-Berkeley