Massenstreiks und Straßenproteste in Indien und Brasilien

Abstract

This article provides a post-2008 comparative perspective on mass strikes and street demonstrations in India and Brazil and looks as the relationship between the different forms of protests in the two countries. While the street protests gained considerable international attention, in contrast, the strikes received relatively little media attention beyond the national contexts, even though the mass strikes were going on for years and followed a coherent agenda. Following this, the article argues that the street demonstrations were politically diffused and dominated by the middle classes, which quickly shifted their political positions from left to right. The different protest dynamics of the working and middle classes reveal the enormous challenges that coalition attempts face. Subsequently, different definitions of the middle classes and their relationship or congruence with urban working classes are discussed.