He went to both Oxford and Harvard, which some among the grassroots might see as a privileged background.

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It is a symbol among the grassroots of the ruling Workers and Peronist Parties in Brazil and Argentina respectively, and the Movement of Popular Participation (MPP), one of the largest sectors in Uruguay's ruling party, the Broad Front.

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Better represented among the party grassroots are the social conservatives and the libertarians.

ECONOMIST: Politics

The Bolivarian Revolution is popular among the indigenous grassroots, including CONAIE, the largest indigenous movement in Ecuador.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Some Reflections Over Speculations on Venezuela's Future

Until there is popular pressure to do so, no amount of new investment and infrastructure, no display of bonhomie among the new leaders, will conceal the grassroots segregation that the walls signal.

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Her popularity among the party rank and file was not reflected in the parliamentary party, thus ensuring the Tory grassroots would probably not have got the chance to vote for her even if she had joined the leadership race.

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The tragic death of Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi, by self-immolation, brought about a grassroots political movement among Tunisians that effectively overthrew the country's authoritarian ruler, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.

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But in political terms, the new stridency among senior British Muslims is probably the bare minimum of assertiveness they could show while keeping any credibility with their grassroots.

ECONOMIST: British Muslims