Organizing Dissent
Unions, the State, and the Democratic Teachers' Movement in Mexico
376 pages | 15 illustrations | 6 x 9 | 1996
Cloth edition is not available
ISBN 978-0-271-02590-2 | paper: $27.00 sh
"In this thoughtful examination of the emergence and survival of the democratic teachers' movement in Mexico, Maria Lorena Cook offers a rich case study central to several important debates in the fields of social movements, democratization, and Mexican studies. . . . It is a solid achievement worthy of high praise."-American Journal of Sociology
"Organizing Dissent represents a very valuable contribution to an understanding of the particular political factors that allow social movements not only to come into being, but also to survive in the context of authoritarian regimes. . . A timely contribution to the building of a better understanding of the conditions under which the democratic experience fostered through participation in social movements might be a tool for change in the hands of those so far consistently marginalized from power."-Canadian Journal of Political Science
"Cook's superb book will be of wide interest to students of Mexican politics as well as social movement theory."-Industrial and Labor Relations Review
"Cook's richly documented study of the Mexican teachers' movement proposes answers to two key questions: how do social movements emerge in repressive contexts, and what factors enable them to survive in such an environment? Her book will be a milestone in linking social movement theory with the study of political change in non-liberal settings like Mexico."-Sidney Tarrow, Cornell University
Organizing Dissent examines the democratic movement that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s within Mexico's National Union of Education Workers, the largest union in Latin America. The size, perseverance, and success of the movement stood out in a country whose governing regime was renowned for its ability to co-opt, control, and repress dissent.
Maria Lorena Cook analyzes the development of the teachers' movement from its origins in the 1970s through the economic crisis of the 1980s and into the early 1990s under the Salinas administration. She explores the evolving relationship among the union leadership, the state, and rank-and-file teachers, looks closely at organization dynamics and competing strategies within the movement, and compares the successes and failures of six regional contingents of the teachers' movement located in southern and central Mexico.
Maria Lorena Cook is Assistant Professor at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. She is co-editor of The Politics of Economic Restructuring: State-Society Relations and Regime Change in Mexico (Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, 1994).
Contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
List of Acronyms
1 The Politics of Labor Reform in Latin America
2 Directions in Labor Reform: A Regional Overview
3 Legacies of State Corporatism: Argentina and Brazil
4 Legacies of Radical Regimes: Chile and Peru
5 Legacies of Revolution: Mexico and Bolivia
6 The Future of Labor Reform: Between Flexibility and Rights?
References
Index
ContentsList of Tables
Acknowledgments
List of Acronyms
1 The Politics of Labor Reform in Latin America
2 Directions in Labor Reform: A Regional Overview
3 Legacies of State Corporatism: Argentina and Brazil
4 Legacies of Radical Regimes: Chile and Peru
5 Legacies of Revolution: Mexico and Bolivia
6 The Future of Labor Reform: Between Flexibility and Rights?
References
Index