Mystic and Social Movements: Cha(lle)Nges in/for Organizational and Communicative Dimensions

The mystic is one of the most particular characteristics of the Brazilian Landless Social Movement (MST) that has been extended to many other social movements, both in Latin America and worldly. It is considered as an undefinable notion that mixes ethics, aesthetics, subjectivity, identity, feelings, emotions and ideas, and takes place through many artistic forms (dance, music, theatre, poetry, etc). A really transdimensional and complex practice that articulates the symbolical, emotional, thinking, communicative and socialising dimensions, the mystic offers an analytical scenario for understanding some of the most important challenges faced by social movements and the changes they set to the notion of “organization”. From the case study of the MST, the text aims to analyse how the mystic summarizes, at least, two debates on the organizational and communicative dimensions of social movements, it is, the interrelationships between: 1) emotions and reasons and, 2) visibility and articulation. Given the specificities of the mystic, it challenges the traditional boundaries set by social sciences on these pairs -presented, in some cases, as irreconcilable dichotomies-, giving the possibility of thinking it in terms of interrelationships and dialectic dualities. We aim to explore the innovations this practice sets for the communicative dimension and the organizational dynamics of social movements, as a singular mediation (Barbero) that offers a new sense to the notion of “totality” (given its transdimensional nature) and avoids the tension between action and structure (due to the senses of the mystic practice and the particular individual-collective articulation proposed by it). Going beyond borders (the reason/feelings, or individual/collective divides) the mystic provides a scenario for the analysis of how a collectively organized practice, with an important symbolical and communicative dimensions, generates a strong sense of belonging to the social movement, reinforcing the organizational dimension.