This text is a contribution to the debate about the participation of social scientists in the field of health. The difficulties and perspectives involved in the incorporation of a specific theme such as social movements are treated. When criticizing the heavy emphasis traditionally given to "politics" in Brazilian social analysis, in reality attention is being called to the problem of the decrease in reflective power on a theoretically and politically relevant issue, the constitution of collective subjects in a specific period of time. This article represents an effort at overcoming the dilemma.
Social Movements; Public Health; Social Sciences; Political Analysis; Social Participation