Digital Public Sphere and Activism from Brazilian ‘Coletivos’: (Re)Defining Boundaries between Public and Private

This paper analyzes the dialogical relationship between the structural constraints regarding the increasing use of digital communication tools and the actions of activists from Brazilian ‘coletivos’ (collectives) who turn to these tools to impute new meanings on participation and politics. Collectives are recent forms of social and political mobilization emerging in the Brazilian public sphere through activisms linked to a variety of themes and domains in everyday life. In particular, the analysis highlights the importance of building bonds of friendship and solidarity among activists that go beyond formal ties. Often, these bonds are built or reinforced through digital communication tools that function as new arenas of political socialization. The use of digital communication tools, the emphasis on personal biography as motivation for political engagement, the strengthening of friendships in political struggles, and the discourse of horizontality are some of the dimensions of theses activisms that indicate the redefinition of structural patterns of political culture in Brazil, such as the separation between public and private, as well as the relationship between democracy and public sphere. In general terms, the activism of collectives and the theoretical debate on public sphere in the 21st century constitute a mirror game, where the transformation of one is reflected in the other. The main conclusion of the paper points to a causal correlation between (i) the unplanned effects of the intensification of the use of digital communication tools, particularly social media, in social relationships in general and in politics specifically, and (ii) the subjective meaning aimed at by actors who politicize their daily and private lives.