Recognition vs. Redistribution: Social Movements and the Struggle for Inclusion in Brazil.

Social movements have played a key role in the process of democratization in Brazil since the mid 1970s. The changing political opportunity structure engendered by this process allowed for new identities and demands to emerge in the public sphere. Social movements struggling for inclusion of a wide range of marginalized groups have based their demands on issues related to redistribution, as well as recognition of marginalized and stigmatized identities. Focusing on the activity and gains of the gay, lesbian and travesti movement in Brazil, but also including other important movements active in contemporary Brazil (women, Afro-Brazilian, and landless peasants) in the analysis, this paper will examine the extent to which a gap between recognition and redistributive struggles has emerged in the impact of these diverse social movements. It also seeks to explain why impressive gains have been secured in regard to the recognition of identities, while progress in relation to redistributive issues has been more limited, both within movements (e.g., lower class sexual minorities, poor women and Afro-Brazilians) and across movements (e.g., LGBT rights vs. land reform). ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]