Recent studies have identified reduction of the involvement of citizens in traditional forms of participation, predominantly related to the electoral processes and the formal institutions of representation, and increased engagement in types of action related to political protest. Different factors have been identified as enhancers of these actions, some microsocial or individual order, as feelings, attitudes and values. Focusing on the case of Latin America, in this article we present an analysis of the evolution of some indicators of involvement in these forms of action over a decade. Additionally, we assessed individual attributes which act as determinants of these behaviors. For this we use the time series data produced by the organization Latinobarómetro (1995-2007). The results indicate that, despite the relevance of discontent and the context of political and economic instability in the region, the key explanatory variables of protest activism are those linked to the political and cognitive individual resources.
protest; contestation; participation; individual determinants; Latin America