The demand and supply dynamics of the MST activists’ mobilization

As many scholars state, the participation in a social movement must be more gratifying than costly to last. In this paper, we analyse the accounts of 40 activists and four former activists of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra MST) regarding what makes their participation gratifying. To do so, we use the demand and supply model that Klandermans in The blackwell companion to social movements, Blackwell Publishing, 360–379, 2004 borrows from economics to explain the dynamics of mobilization. In this way, we identify the demands of the activists, how the activists’ demands relate to the three main demands identified by Klandermans in The blackwell companion to social movements, Blackwell Publishing, 360–379, 2004 and how the MST organizers supply them. When we relate the accounts of the MST activists with the MST’s mobilization strategy, we make the demand-supply dynamic of mobilization tangible and highlight how the mobilization is a complex and cyclical process. In addition, we observe how the social networks play a crucial role in both sides of the dynamic of mobilization.