Urban social movements in Uruguay

an exploratory approach from the perspective of socio-territorial movements

Abstract

This article examines urban social movements in Uruguay from the socio-territorial perspective developed by Brazilian geographer Bernardo Mançano Fernandes. Employing a multimethod approach, the study combines quantitative analysis of collective actions from April to September 2024 with an in-depth investigation of three cases: the homeless movement, the environmental movement, and the feminist movement. During the period analyzed, 159 collective actions were documented, predominantly led by neighborhood movements and trade unions. Their primary strategies included communicative actions (such as letters, statements, and interviews), alongside marches, rallies, and public performances. Key demands centred on public space, labor conditions, and socio-environmental issues. The case studies were selected due to their significant relevance to the discussion: the first illustrates the most frequently identified conflict demand—public space usage; the second, led by neighborhood and environmental movements, exemplifies frequent socio-environmental protest motives; the third showcase a significant repertoire of protests, providing opportunities for insightful discussions. The case analysis revealed that in the three social movements studied, both strategies and the formation of political identity and promoted values are influenced by territory. The homeless movement redefines public spaces as areas of survival, challenging state logic. Feminism transforms urban space through symbolic alterations, such as the renaming of streets and the creation of public spaces from a feminist perspective. The environmental movement advocates for the protection of wetlands, developing public spaces that resist prevailing urban logic, as evidenced by the expansion of a new national highway. However, the processes of territorialization, deterritorialization, and reterritorialization appears as ongoing phenomena, wherein social movements contest and claim new territorialities, yet these are persistantl threatened by dominant territorial production logics.