This paper analyzes the emergence of HIV/aids field in the context of public policies in Brazil, mapping actors involved, their positions and resources used to create new institutional logics. The Brazilian HIV/aids policy was the result of pioneering efforts of a broad spectrum of different groups and social movements, seeking to deepen SUS principles of prevention and universalism, which achieved considerable success and recognition from international bodies. While examining power relations that take place within the field, it is possible to consider the influence of the position occupied by the actors in their forms of entrepreneurial action. The main conclusion is to point out the possibilities for entrepreneurial action of peripheral players and the need for a better qualification of entrepreneurial social action, which includes detailing the strategies used by actors, differentiating according to the positions occupied and along the different stages of institutional change.
Social fields; institutional entrepreneurship; public policy; HIV/aids; social movements
