New social movements in Latin America: The dynamics of class and identity

Abstract

This essay provides a counterpoint to the postmodern interpretations of social movements in Latin America. Its purpose is to argue for the necessity of a class analysis of these movements. The main focus of this argument is on the emergence of what has been labelled ‘new peasant movements’, which, it is argued, constitute the most dynamic forces of resistance to neoliberal capitalism in Latin America. Postmodernism in this context is viewed as a deficient intellectual approach, premised as it is on an idealist conception of reality.