Transnational networks of citizens as invigorators of Latin American civil society

The goal of this paper is to underline the role of transnational networks citizens' political activism against free trade agreements, based on economic liberalization policies embodied in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This kind of political activism began with NAFTA negotiations and has been going on until the actual stalled negotiation of the Free Trade Area of Americas (FTAA). In the beginning of the 90's Latin American civil societies appeared to be more structured and unitary in their political participation. In this sense transnational networks are a sign of the renovation, whose irruption in domestic and international political contexts simultaneously showed us their strategic actions around their demands as actors and as structures. Gramsci's conception of civil society (when it moves up from a structural moment to a superstructural moment) has been exceeded for the role of citizens' transnational networks. These social and political actors have influenced the domestic and multilateral political agenda of the region.