The present article has the specific goal of examining Aids Coalition to Unleash Power's ideas and actions. In a broader scope, it tries to discuss issues related to scientific theory and practice concerning Aids in the United States. The sources used for the present study consist of printed and electronic documents produced by Aids Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP/NY). After a period of great radicalization, ACT UP developed a less confronting position. Among other factors, this was brought about by the changes that took place in the North American political scenario in the beginning of the 1990's, as well as by internal dissent. The analyzed data allow us to say that the group has been quite successful in relation to the production and the distribution of medicines for the treatment of Aids. They also indicate partial changes in the competitive game for the monopoly of 'truths' about the disease.
Aids; new social trends; ACT UP; New York; paradigmatic changes; history of science