Feminismo do chão de barro : uma história de solidariedade, coletividade e protagonismo feminino no cotidiano do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem-teto (MTST)

This thesis analyzes aspects of the political action of the Homeless Workers Movement (MTST) beyond the large street demonstrations, the act of occupying vacant land and buildings, among other actions of its best-known repertoire of struggle. The focus is on the dynamics present in the construction of the movement's daily life in the Occupations, especially in the city of São Paulo, where its militants, especially women, exist and resist every day. Through a methodology that involved, besides bibliographical research, participant observation, interviews and collection of testimonials, the analysis draws a panorama of the process of becoming homeless subjects from practices and experiences present in two levels: the space of the Occupations and their places of existence. There, the existence of solidarity practices, the collectivization of care tasks and a growing female protagonism stand out as structural characteristics of the movement's daily struggle - a situation that became even more evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the movement needed to optimize and expand its capacity for organization and action. The women's encounter with the movement appears as a moment of transition and opening of new possibilities; of construction or reconstruction of self and change of life. It is in this context that a type of feminine, popular, and intersectional struggle is structured, rooted and grounded in the reality, needs, and power of homeless women, and which I call ground-road feminism.