Enliven autonomy

social movements and democratic experiments beyond the State

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2022/65254

In the last 30 years, several Brazilian social movements have bet on the tactic of institutionalized action; and there were many analyzes on socio-state interaction in the period. This kind of enchantment with the democratic capacity of the Brazilian State gave less importance to the experiences of democratic exercise registered in civil society. However, such an approach seems to lose strength after the 2016 Coup and the rise of Jair Bolsonaro to the Presidency of the Republic. Starting from a broader investigation, the objective of this effort was to explore the pre- and post-enchantment periods, within the trajectory of the Brazilian Solidarity Economy Movement, in order to understand how the exercise of democracy takes place beyond or despite the State. It is concluded that, tending to, the idea of autonomy-as-democratic-praxis could contribute to the elucidation of a type of democracy centered on the dual territory-community, in which self-management and self-organization matter more than the democratic dispute within the State.

Keywords: Autonomy; Democracy; Social movements; Solidarity economy; State.