This article examines the effects of participatory arrangements in the institutional context on patterns of collective action of social movements regarding to organizational, relational and discursive structures. The changes in the social movements were examined from the inter-temporal comparison of their patterns of action over three decades (1980-2010), by methodological tools of qualitative methods (document analysis and in-depth interview) and quantitative (survey). The comparative study of the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Serra and Center for the Defense of Human Rights of Serra, located in Espírito Santo, shows that movements institutionally embedded combine 1.complexity of the organizational structure and participation of militants, 2.relations with political institutions and movements or other non-institutional entities and 3.cooperative and contestatory interactions in the relationship society-state.
social movements; participation; institutionalization; organizational complexity; cooperative interactions