Based on bibliographic research and document analysis, the article contributes to the debate about social struggles in the realm of healthcare in the light of current challenges. It analyzes the trajectory of the social movements for Brazilian healthcare since 1970 and the forms of resistance and struggle against the neoliberal offensive. It presents the classic and contemporary concepts about the category of social movement, revives the main elements exposed in the proposal for a public health care movement, which gave origin to Brazil's Single Healthcare System (SUS) and identifies the challenges to implementing a Brazilian healthcare system considering the restricted role of the state and the strengthening of the market.
Social movement; Healthcare; Neoliberalism