6. Late Neoliberalism and Its Discontents: The Case of Portugal

Although an existing body of research has shown that citizens’ protest and the formation of social movements are unlikely to emerge in conditions of economic recession, there is also much variation in this regard. Portugal during the Great Recession represents quite an interesting case, since not only was the volume of protest comparatively high in the context of southern Europe, but Portugal was a country where protest movements tended to form cohesive organizations and stable and wide coalitions, have a national scope, and establish alliances with unions and left-wing political parties. Moreover, Portugal was also a case where the political and institutional context was favourable to protest, in terms of providing recognition, allies and support.