Neighborhood Associations and Political Change in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Prior to the recent reestablishment of democracy in Brazil, much attention was paid to the sudden proliferation of a variety of collective organizations in civil society that arose in opposition to the military regime. By the end of the 1970s, vocal and widespread opposition had materialized from middle-class professional organizations, elements within the Catholic Church, a relatively independent and combative labor movement centered in the industrial suburbs of São Paulo, and a burgeoning number of neighborhood associations being organized in the major metropolitan areas around the country.