Workers and generals: military-controlled transitions and labor movements in Brazil and Egypt

ABSTRACT

Under which conditions can combative labor in the Global South negotiate state and society relations and constrain the encroachment of their respective militaries on politics? This article argues that the domestic and international legitimacy these militaries enjoy during the transition away from authoritarianism is a key factor shaping labor movements’ organizational and mobilizational capacity, labor alliances with other social classes, and labor’s capacity to negotiate democratic citizenship. The argument is investigated by examining Egypt and Brazil, where labor strikes delegitimized authoritarian capitalism and inspired the rise of independent and anti-corporatist unions and federations. In Brazil, the military lost its legitimacy domestically and internationally, providing opportunities for labor’s democratizing role. Conversely, the Egyptian military held power locally and internationally, thwarting prospects for independent unions to maintain their autonomy from the military and to forge alliances. The research combines historical and archival research with qualitative methods, including interviewing and fieldwork in Egypt and Brazil.

KEYWORDS:

• Comparative historical approach
• political economy
• labor movements
• cross-class alliances
• militaries
• democratization

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank interviewees in Brazil and Egypt, and Jean-François Mayer, Ceren Belge, Tina Hilgers, Craig Phelan, and two anonymous reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

Concordia Graduate Student Mobility Award.

Notes on contributors

Lara Khattab

Lara Khattab is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Mount Allison University. She co-authored The Politics of Sectarianism in Post-war Lebanon published by Pluto Press in 2015.