Towards a Latin American Sociology of Labour

1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 375-402
Author(s):  
Francisco Zapata
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Shop Floor ◽  
Historical Reconstruction ◽  
Working Population ◽  
Bargaining Process ◽  
American Sociology ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
The Subject

General overviews of Latin American labour (Erickson, Peppe, Spalding, 1974; Roxborough, 1986) have contributed to a synthesis of the major findings on the subject resulting from the work of labour historians and political scientists. Yet the authors have focused on recent contributions without trying to establish the sequence according to which the field has developed. This article discusses the evolution of Latin American labour studies from what was once the privileged domain of ideologues and militants (Mariátegui, 1928; Jobet, 1955; Ramírez Necochea, 1956; Lora, 1967) to a more sociological approach in recent years. Our purpose is to show how the analysis of labour has undergone a profound transformation as a result of this change in focus. While the ideological focus gave importance to the historical reconstruction of the different phases of the process of working-class formation and to the narration of the ‘heroic moments’ when labour forged its identity struggling against the State, what we can call the sociological focus has emphasised such factors as the geographical and sectoral distribution of the working population, the process of unionisation, the attitudes of workers in relation to industrial labour, democracy and relations of authority on the shop floor, worker consciousness and the collective bargaining process.1

The Sociology of Inequality in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minor Mora-Salas
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequality ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Developmental Phase ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
American Sociology ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
Theoretical Approaches

The study of social inequality has been one of the main topics of Latin American sociology since the second half of the twentieth century. It is possible to organize the academic trajectory of this field into three periods. During the first developmental phase, the research was inspired by comprehensive theoretical frameworks such as modernization theory, dependency theory, and structuralist-development theory; the historical-structural approach constituted the hegemonic analytical model. In a second period, the sociological approach was relegated to the background as the study of poverty and income distribution came to the fore. This shift owed as much to major economic and social changes that the region experienced as to the waning of the historical-structural paradigm. Finally, the sociological approach has gained renewed prominence in light of the changes that have occurred in the region at the end of the past century and the first two decades of the present one. During this period, Latin American sociology of inequality becomes more multifaceted and its theoretical approaches more complex as it incorporates new analytical perspectives to problematize the persistence and reconstitution of social inequality patterns in the region.

THE G77@50 AND THE STRUGGLE FOR A DECOLONIAL FUTURE

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Siphamandla Zondi
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Colonial Legacies ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Good For

 This introductory article outlines the importance of the subject discussed in this edition of UNISA’s Latin American Report, the Group of 77+ China. It seeks to locate this discussion at the centre of the search for an alternative world to one that remains haunted by colonial legacies and new imperial designs. It makes the point that the G77 is born into an evolving pursuit of a dream for a world in which former colonies realise fully their aspirations for a future that is good for all. It shows that the G77 has played a crucial role in this, while it also poses questions about the Group’s ability to implement what it works so hard to reach consensus on.

Capitalism and the State in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban Torres ◽  
Carina Borrastero
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The State ◽  
American Sociology ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
The Relationship

This article analyzes how the research on the relation between capitalism and the state in Latin America has developed from the 1950s up to the present. It starts from the premise that knowledge of this relation in sociology and other social sciences in Latin America has been taking shape through the disputes that have opposed three intellectual standpoints: autonomist, denialist, and North-centric. It analyzes how these standpoints envision the relationship between economy and politics and how they conceptualize three regionally and globally growing trends: the concentration of power, social inequality, and environmental depletion. It concludes with a series of challenges aimed at restoring the theoretical and political potency of the autonomist program in Latin American sociology.

Labor Movements in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico M. Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Labor Movements ◽  
Relational Approach ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Labor

The history of Latin America cannot be understood without analyzing the role played by labor movements in organizing formal and informal workers across urban and rural contexts.This chapter analyzes the history of labor movements in Latin America from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. After debating the distinction between “working class” and “popular sectors,” the chapter proposes that labor movements encompass more than trade unions. The history of labor movements is analyzed through the dynamics of globalization, incorporation waves, revolutions, authoritarian breakdowns, and democratization. Taking a relational approach, these macro-dynamics are studied in connection with the main revolutionary and reformist strategic disputes of the Latin American labor movements.

Social Movements in Latin America: Mapping the Literature

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolás M. Somma
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Transnational Activism ◽  
Organizational Fields ◽  
Family Labor ◽  
American Sociology ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Vast Literature ◽  
Active Research

The study of social movements is currently one of the most active research fields in Latin American sociology. This article maps the vast literature on Latin American social movements (LASMs) from the late 1980s to the present. After briefly discussing how scholars have conceptualized LASMs, it presents seven influential approaches: structuralism, political economy, political context, organizational fields, “new social movements,” frames and emotions, and transnational activism. Then it discusses some works that zero in on the specificity of LASMs. It closes with a brief summary of the five coming chapters, each of which is devoted to a specific social movement “family”: labor, women’s, student, indigenous, and anti-globalization.

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