Abstract :
(ABSTRAKSI) - (ABSTRACT) This paper contributes to the growing body of research on collective action and the
literature on democracy and welfare, by exploring the impact of society collective struggles
on unfolding the conflict between the poor and the state that lead to policy making. In 1990s
until 2003, a new wide range and a broad array of collective actions experiments were
initiated in Brazil, under the name of The Citizensâ Action against Hunger and Poverty and
for Life (TCA). This network of social movements with middle-progressive and low class
society as its main supporters, has played a significant role to the birth of Brazilâs poverty
alleviation policies, most notably, Zero Hunger Programmes that created in 2003. Building
on social theory of collective action, we show that TCA has clear effect on the
implementation of Zero Hunger Programmes: (i) they invokes solidarity on fight against
hunger and poverty; (ii) they carry or engaged in a conflict of food security and agrarian
reform against state-agrarian elites; (iii) they are able to breach the political economy
constraints in order to achieve radical change in social policy making. These three analytical
categories of TCAâs actions, has led the government of Brazil from President Itamar Franco,
Fernando Cardoso, to Lula da Silva, to initiate a new model of poverty reduction programs
that involve citizen participation and decentralize decision making mechanisms.