Despite the significant interest aroused by the movement of settlers in Latin America, the self -management discourses deployed in their struggles for housing constitute a little -explored aspect in literature, even when this dimension is key to understanding their repertoires ofaction. This paper analyzes how the protagonists of these popular move- ments in Chile and Venezuela signify habitat self -management. Based on the analysis of thirty-one interviews, the discourses and meanings related to self -management are delved into, revealing four constitutive categories: integrality of the habitat, demand for auton- omy, claim to influence the State and the desire to transform society. These findings make it possible to highlight the particularities of the production modality adopted by these move- ments and contribute to a broader discussion on the different modalities of popular habitat production that currently take place in the region.