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This article analyzes the evolving mobilizational strategies of robust unions in contemporary Latin America. The origins of these strategies are rooted in the neoliberal adjustment policies in the early 1990s that compensated and reshaped power relations in labor organizations. With
union compensation, a dominant faction concentrated power and embraced instrumentalism; the union exchanged electoral support with various parties for particularistic benefits. When adjustment policies were adopted without compensation, power was dispersed in an archipelago of activists. Unions
then relied on movementism, which centered on contentious demand making and resistance to partisan alliances. Comparing teachers in Mexico and Argentina, this article contributes to broader debates about the effects of democracy on contentious politics and the changing partisan identities
of workers.

Scholars of Latin American politics have made contrasting predictions about the prospects for contemporary group-based interest representation. Some argue that democratization creates an opportunity for societal groups to intensify their participation in politics. The expansion of political rights, alongside free and fair elections, creates space for all major groups to take part in politics, crucially those excluded under authoritarian rule. Other scholars, by contrast, maintain that neoliberal economic reforms fragment and demobilize major groups. Changes in the economic model, they suggest, have severe consequences for labor organizations, which now have a limited political repertoire. My research challenges both of these claims, showing how the consequences of democracy and neoliberalism, rather than being uniform, have been uneven. I focus on the diverse forms of political participation by an influential societal group: public school teachers. Over the past thirty years, teachers' unions have become the largest and most dynamic sector of labor in many countries throughout the region, taking leadership positions in national union centrals. Teachers have developed contrasting types of mobilization: (1) Movementism (movimientismo in Spanish), based on contentious actions and protests; (2) Leftism, based on organic ties to left parties and ongoing electoral mobilization; and (3) Instrumentalism, based on flexible alliances with various parties, which negotiate for the electoral support of teachers. These three types of mobilization map, respectively, onto the cases of Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.These contrasting mobilizational strategies of teachers can be traced to two differences: each union's ties with its members—centralized versus fragmented; and relations among its leaders—cohesive versus divided. Centralization positions unions to participate in electoral politics, because with dense ties to rank and file workers the leadership can build a powerful voting bloc. By contrast, with fragmented relations to members, unions are unable to discipline grassroots activists or mobilize voters, and they fall back on strikes and protests. Second, leadership cohesion positions unions to take strategic actions, such as moving away from long-standing allegiance to a single party and developing instrumental alliances with multiple parties. Unions with divided leaderships, by contrast, are more deeply rooted in longstanding partisan alliances. For them, efforts to develop instrumental alliances exacerbate factional rivalries, and tend to fail.While the analysis focuses primarily on the evolving patterns of organization and leadership over the past 30 years, the study also steps back to consider the origins of these patterns, which were produced jointly by the initial legacy of union founding and the political opportunities that were created by democratic openings. Finally, the politics of teachers' unions is obviously of enormous importance for education policy and for national strategies to increase human capital and enhance social welfare. The study addresses these concerns by showing that alternative mobilizational strategies have important implications for education policy and policymaking. This study draws on extensive fieldwork and original data collection in Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico. It also utilizes secondary literature and archival documents to analyze how teachers' unions were founded and how they evolved in the years leading up to democratic openings.

"Parties and Non-State Actors in Latin America" published on by Oxford University Press.

ABSTRACTDo labor unions still motivate their members to participate in politics, or have social and economic changes undermined their political importance? This question is important to revisit, as globalization and economic reform have weakened many popular sector organizations in Latin America, reducing some to mere patronage machines. This article examines the case of the teachers' union in Bogotá, Colombia to assess whether and how labor unions are able to promote the political activation of their members. Employing a multimethod research design that begins with a quantitative analysis of a survey of Colombian teachers, this study finds that union affiliation is associated with higher levels of motivation to vote. It then uses evidence from interviews to show how union advocacy and internal elections for leadership positions shape political behavior, contributing to civic engagement. This research engages with broader debates about democratic quality and political representation in contemporary Latin America.

Este artículo es producto de una investigación realizada desde un enfoque socio jurídico e interdisciplinario. Se analiza la participación político electoral del sindicalismo docente colombiano, sus orígenes, formas, contrariedades y posibilidades en el marco de un contexto desfavorable a posturas políticas de extrema izquierda de estirpe abstencionistas, a la crisis de los discursos que justificaban la combinación de todas las formas de lucha y el uso de la violencia en la disputa política. El problema de investigación que orientó las respectivas indagaciones y el proceso de síntesis teórica, se resume en un interrogante: ¿Qué situaciones, aspectos o realidades permitieron un cambio en la actuación en materia de participación política y electoral de la organización sindical docente colombiana? El estudio estuvo fundamentado en fuentes primarias y secundarias; siendo la entrevista semiestructurada y el análisis documental y de texto las técnicas desde las cuales se recopilo la información necesaria. El trabajo permitió llegar a una conclusión: el sindicalismo docente colombiano se ha convertido en un actor social y gremial con incidencia en el proceso político electoral local, regional y nacional. La superación de posturas abstencionistas y ultra radicales en el plano interno, una percepción más optimista sobre las posibilidades del sistema político, una reinterpretación pragmática sobre el sentido y carácter que debe asumir la propia lucha gremial sindical, contribuyeron al viraje táctico donde la participación político electoral compagina con las luchas reivindicativas por los derechos laborales a la usanza tradicional.

This article employs a socio-juridical and interdisciplinary approach to analyze the electoral participation of teachers' unions in Colombia—the origins, forms, and distinct challenges this political strategies poses. The Colombian teachers' union shifted away from extremist, abstentionist positions, as the strategy of a combination of all forms of struggle, including political violence, became untenable. The research question is: what conditions enable a change in the behavior of the Colombian teachers' union vis-à-vis electoral participation? This study is based on primary and secondary sources, semi-structured interviews, and textual analysis. The research concludes that teachers' unions in Colombia are now an important actor in local, regional, and national elections. The union's attitude towards electoral participation has become more optimistic, and it has become more pragmatic about the meaning and character of the struggle for labor rights. The union has undergone a fundamental shift towards greater electoral participation ; Este artículo es producto de una investigación realizada desde un enfoque socio jurídico e interdisciplinario. Se analiza la participación político electoral del sindicalismo docente colombiano, sus orígenes, formas, contrariedades y posibilidades en el marco de un contexto desfavorable a posturas políticas de extrema izquierda de estirpe abstencionistas, a la crisis de los discursos que justificaban la combinación de todas las formas de lucha y el uso de la violencia en la disputa política. El problema de investigación que orientó las respectivas indagaciones y el proceso de síntesis teórica, se resume en un interrogante: ¿Qué situaciones, aspectos o realidades permitieron un cambio en la actuación en materia de participación política y electoral de la organización sindical docente colombiana? El estudio estuvo fundamentado en fuentes primarias y secundarias; siendo la entrevista semiestructurada y el análisis documental y de texto las técnicas desde las cuales se recopilo la información necesaria. El trabajo permitió llegar a una conclusión: el sindicalismo docente colombiano se ha convertido en un actor social y gremial con incidencia en el proceso político electoral local, regional y nacional. La superación de posturas abstencionistas y ultra radicales en el plano interno, una percepciónmás optimista sobre las posibilidades del sistema político, una reinterpretación pragmática sobre el sentido y carácter que debe asumir la propia lucha gremial sindical, contribuyeron al viraje táctico donde la participación político electoral compagina con las luchas reivindicativas por los derechos laborales a la usanza tradicional.