Social Movements and Revolutions in Latin America

Abstract

Abstract Throughout the twentieth century, successful revolutions in Latin America were engineered by broad inter-class, urban-rural coalitions led by insurgent elites. However, the different types of relationships established between social movements and the revolutionary vanguard have yet to be analyzed in depth. Similarly, how the efforts of the vanguard enabled different revolutionary coalitions to surface and how these coalitions were organized have not been thoroughly researched. Without ignoring the importance of factors such as the infrastructural power of the state, the type of political regime, or the political environment in the successful outcome of a revolution, this chapter argues that agency is also a key element in explaining a successful revolutionary process. Its aim is to explore the impact of the degree of cohesion of the armed insurgent elites, and the different forms of relationship established between them and social movements, on the revolutionary conflicts of Latin America.