Autonomy and Emancipation in Latin America

It is widely recognized that over the past two decades new Latin American social and political movements have reconfigured the political map of the region. Within an atmosphere of “generalized insubordination and insurrection,” these movements have become a powerful force on national politics throughout the continent, successfully defeating a series of neoliberal governments and paving the way for the election of leftist governments. Less widely recognized, especially outside Latin America, is the fact that accompanying the growth of these social movements has been an important wave of theoretical innovations that reconceptualize political action. These innovations constitute a refounding of Latin American critical thought that breaks with traditional conceptions of politics by taking up the task of thinking from within the movements (from within movement), a refounding that can be conceived as a revolution in the revolutions.

This special issue of the South Atlantic Quarterly, composed primarily of translated essays, seeks to provide English-language readers with an introduction to these theoretical innovations. The contributors have varying degrees of proximity to the movements in question (some are direct participants and others witnesses to the events), but all demonstrate how thinking from within movement(s) allows us to identify the formation of a new political logic. Some of the recurring themes in the issue are the relationship between social movements and the state, the role of indigenous thought and indigenous traditions in the new social formations, and the possibilities for future political change.