The Middle Class in Portugal and Brazil: From Consent to Rebellion (2011–2013)

This chapter centers on a particular period of demonstrations and protest movements that emerged between 2011 and 2013 in Portugal and Brazil. The main hypothesis is that these movements involved social dynamics and tensions that reflected a middle-class drive, in which youth and precarious employment played a key role. It presents data and empirical evidence on inequality in Portugal that reveal the character of the main movements, namely as protests that mobilized against the suppression of rights and the undermining of working conditions. The situation in Brazil is examined in the light of restructured working-class conditions, considering the constraints and uncertainties of the country's development model carried out in that period. It also analyzes the social composition of the protesters based on street surveys carried out during that period.