Traveling resistance: From Egypt to Chile through Israel and Spain

To be presented in Spanish in RC47, session C

ABSTRACT

Traveling Resistance: From Egypt to Chile through Israel and Spain

Lev Luis Grinberg

A new wave of mass mobilization spread all over the world following the demonstrations in Tunis and Egypt which succeeded to overthrow their respective dictators. The wave traveled   to Spain in May, to Chile and Israel in July, and to the US in October. Although the events in one place encouraged activists in other places, the content and impact of the new movements was determined by the local political conditions. In Egypt the claims "people" claimed democracy, and in Spain the "indignados" protested against neo-liberal policies, in Chile the students demanded public education, and in Israel the "people" demanded social justice.

Activists all over the world are encouraged by the capability to mobilize masses and the example of significant accomplishments. The global events inspire the imagination of local movements, provide ideas of new forms of communication, mobilization and action. However this is not a global movement as it pretends to be, moreover, their interpretation as global movements is de-politicizing the meaning of the movements. While the economy, the media and the images are globalized, politics are local and contextual. By comparing the cases I'll show how much internal politics matter, and make the difference between success and failure of the movements. Although ideas and images travel from country to country, they are adapted and transformed according to the local context. By using the analytical concept of political space the paper seeks to comprehend how State/civil society power relations and their representation or repression in the political arena are crucial to comprehend the cases.