This article proposes an analytical integration for the study of mobilization and collective action in defense of human rights from the perspective of political processes, from a discussion with the current academic literature and in reference to concrete processes in Latin America. We argue that collective action in defense of human rights is moving in the inherent tension of the paradox of institutionalization, when rights are recognized by states and governments the regulatory framework can restrict and constrain collective action, but at the same time, can open a formal opportunity to legitimize and enhance collective action. We propose that in this tension the mobilization and collective action for human rights is characterized by a triple analytical specificity: 1) formal structures mobilization and the networking which tends his defense; 2) the changing relationship between legal and political national, and international opportunity; 3) the type of collective action repertoires that maintain a constant relationship with the legal and institutional resources.