PRIVATIZATION AND DEREGULATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN BRAZIL: THE GLOBAL INFLUENCE AND LOCAL IMPLICATIONS

The article discusses aspects of the process of privatization/deregulation/restructuring as part of a global phenomenon in the telecommunications industry, considering the case of Brazil. The objective is to analyze the local implications of that global process focusing on its effects on the unions. The article examines the unions’ new strategies and agendas facing the dramatic changes in the industry. Some evidences indicate that the unions were negatively affected by the changes but despite the losses, the new situation forced a reaction and new strategies are being carried out although it seems difficult to re-gain the previous influence. The argument asserts that the global-local relations cannot be examined from a unilateral dimension, instead must be seen as a dialectical movement.