COSATU and the democratic transition in South Africa: drifting towards corporatism?

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the ANC's economic policies will not satisfy the demands of the truly disadvantaged in South Africa. Recent research has indicated that nearly 50% of families in South Africa are living below the poverty line and things are getting worse all the time. COSATU, despite its participation in numerous economic structures, will find it difficult to impact on the ANC's increasing drift into new liberal orthodoxy. If the experience of COSATU can be generalized, it suggests that the future of social movements in societies undergoing transitions to democracies is bleak. If these movements are to survive and realize the demands for which they were created, they will be required to meet the test of time, by adopting and implementing strategic perspectives that do not simply flow with the logic of the transition, but instead challenge this logic and widen the political opportunity structures that currently exist. -from Authors