In the context of new political and legal conditions, social actors in Latin America have recently developed new forms of collective action, including in particular legal mobilization. This paper intends to contribute to the study of this development, through the incorporation of elements of three scholarly traditions that have generally developed separately from each other: social movement theory, legal mobilization studies and constitutional theory. It points out in particular the contribution of democratic constitutionalism to the analysis of the role of social movements in legal change. It also proposes the use of the terms counter-movement and counter-legal mobilization for the study of collective action and legal strategies developed by conservative sectors that oppose the advancement of social movements in Latin America.

Ante un nuevo contexto político y jurídico, los actores sociales en América Latina han desarrollado recientemente nuevas formas de acción colectiva, incluyendo en particular la movilización legal. Este trabajo intenta contribuir al estudio de este fenómeno, a través de la integración de elementos de tres tradiciones académicas que generalmente se han desarrollado de manera separada: la teoría de los movimientos sociales, los estudios sobre movilización legal y la teoría constitucional. Se argumenta en particular sobre la contribución del constitucionalismo democrático al análisis del rol de los movimientos sociales en el cambio legal, y se propone estudiar con los mismos marcos analíticos los contra-movimientos y la contra-movilización legal desarrollada por sectores conservadores en América Latina.

Este trabalho analisa estratégias e marcos discursivos desenvolvidos recentemente pelo feminismo na América Latina para enfrentar a ação desenrolada pelo fundamentalismo religioso no campo dos direitos reprodutivos na América Latina, e em particular em torno da controvérsia sobre o aborto. A partir dos casos de México, Colômbia e Brasil, se apontam características e estratégias da mobilização conservadora na região e se analisam as respostas dadas pelo movimento feminista em cada país para disputar o avanço dessas forças na esfera pública, com ênfase no desenvolvimento de argumentos bioéticos, de um discurso alternativo inserido no campo religioso, e de estratégias gradualistas e de litígio estratégico no âmbito nacional e internacional. A interação entre feminismo e fundamentalismo é analisada como uma dinâmica entre movimento e contramovimento, com base na teoria dos movimentos sociais.

The article analyzes strategies and discursive frameworks recently developed by feminist organizations in Latin America in order to counter the action of religious fundamentalism in the field of reproductive rights in Latin America - particularly regarding the abortion controversy. Based on cases from Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, the article addresses characteristics and strategies of conservative mobilization in the region and analyzes the feminist movement's responses in each country in order to dispute the advancement of those forces in the public sphere, with emphasis on bioethical arguments, on an alternative discourse developed within the religious field, as well as on gradualist tactics and strategic litigation in the national and international fields. Interaction between feminism and fundamentalism is analyzed as a dynamics between movement and counter-movement, based on social movement theory.

This article analyzes the role of civil society and its interaction with government actors in the process of the reform of the Argentine Supreme Court initiated in 2003. It explains that social mobilization and the action of NGOs were determining factors in the configuration of incentives for the Executive Branch to initiate this process of reform, as well as in the content and form of the changes made.

Este artículo analiza la incidencia de la sociedad civil y su interacción con actores gubernamentales en el proceso de reformas a la Corte Suprema argentina iniciado en 2003. Se explica que la movilización social y la acción de organizaciones civiles a favor de un cambio en la Corte fueron factores determinantes en la cofiguración de los incentivos del Poder Ejecutivo para iniciar este proceso de reforma, así como en el contenido y la forma de los cambios realizados.