Sociopolitical dynamics within the crisis of the left (original) (raw)

2019, Sociopolitical dynamics within the crisis of the left

Has the left turn come to a definite end? What have been the legacies of the left turn and how can they be measured? Who are the key actors shaping the new ‘anti-populist’ discourse and in what sense are they different from the social movements supporting progressive governments? How do these forms of identification relate to the dominant forms of subjectivisation in a globalized neoliberal world? Does the development of a new socio-political dynamic in the region strengthen or undermine the struggles for equality, democracy and more cohesive societies? This collection studies the gestation of the crisis of the left turn consensus dominant in Argentina and Brazil for the past 15 years and the emerging socio-political dynamics developing in this particular context of change. The volume identifies the traditional and emerging actors which have been influential in the socio-political arena for the past six to ten years. It also traces major episodes of protests between 2011-2015 in Brazil and Argentina. Table of contents Part I: Context and Comparison 1. Changing Socio-Political Dynamics within the Crisis of the Left Turn in Argentina and Brazil, Juan Pablo Ferrero, Ana Natalucci and Luciana Tatagiba 2. Crossroads of Brazilian Democracy. Dynamics of Social Mobilization During Left Turn Circle, Luciana Tatagiba 3. Social Mobilisation and Politics in Argentina: Peak and Crisis of the Left Turn, Ana Natalucci Part II: New Socio-Political Dynamics: Case Studies 4. Between Streets and the Facebook: Engaged Action in the Pro-Impeachment Campaign in Brazil (2014-2016), Débora Zanini & Luciana Tatagiba 5. Tracing the Left Turn Crisis through Argentine Protests: The Anti-Kirchnerist Cycle of Mobilisation (2012 2013), Tomás Gold> 6. Labour Conflicts and Union Strategies in Dilma Roussef’s Governments, Andréia Galvão 7. “Worlds of Work” During Last Kirchnerism The Cases of the CGT and the CTEP (2011 2015), María Belén Morris 8. “Occupy and Resist”: The Autonomist Imaginary in the New Youth Activism in Brazil, Antonia Campos and Ana Cláudia Teixeira 9. The Revitalisation of Youth Engagement in Argentina's Left Turn, Lucía Carnelli and Josefina Furfaro 10. Recent Changes in the Brazilian Feminist Movement: The Emergence of New Collective Actors, Jonas Medeiros and Fabiola Fanti 11. What About Women During the Left Turn? The Case of #NiUnaMenos in Argentina, Julieta Rey 12. Final Remarks: Disputing Democracy Again, Juan Pablo Ferrero and Ana Natalucci

Social mobilization and politics in Argentina: peak and crisis of the left turn

LASA, 2019

In 2015, the FPV lost the national elections to the right-wing coalition Let’s Change by a narrow margin of 51.40 per cent to 48.60 per cent. This result has been interpreted as the end of the left turn in Argentina, which had begun with the inauguration of Néstor Kirchner as president in May 2003 after the period of political destabilization which followed the 2001 crisis. After 2012, the political situation changed in several ways, and a new mobilization cycle was activated headed by popular and middle sectors with different demands (Natalucci, 2019). This paper discusses the characteristics and meanings of the social protests within this cycle and their effects on the political regimen in relation to the crisis of the left turn. The main argument is that the political field and the mobilization field did not follow the same logic. While the political arena was signed by a logic of polarization, expressed in terms of “Populism” versus “Republic” or “Kirchnerist” versus “anti-Kirchnerist”, the dynamic of the mobilization field was heterogeneous in terms of actors, demands and repertoires of contention. In this line, the mobilization cycle had two main consequences which anticipated the crisis of the left turn: First, the emergence of an anti-Kirchnerist space among the middle sectors created the conditions for a new opposition party; second, the loss of Kirchnerism’s capacity for political articulation and innovation weakened the government’s strategic alliances with some popular sectors. Both factors were decisive for the victory of right-wing Let’s Change coalition in the presidential elections of 2015. This paper is based on the chapter “Social Mobilization and Politics in Argentina. Peak and Crisis of the Left Turn” included in the book The Socio-Political Dynamics within the Crisis of the Left Turn: Argentina and Brazil, co-edited with Juan Pablo Ferrero and Luciana Tatagiba, of next appearance. The methodological approach is mainly descriptive based on quantitative data of protest events collected during the research project “The end of the left turn in Latin America? New actors and discourses shaping the political arena of the post-transition”.

Mass Protests under ‘Left Neoliberalism’: Brazil, June-July 2013

The mass movements in June and July 2013 were the largest and most significant protests in Brazil for a generation, and they have shaken up the country’s political system. They expressed a wide range of demands about public service provision and governance, and concerns with corruption. Their social base was broad, starting with students and left-wing activists and including, later, many middle-class protesters and specific categories of workers. The deep and contradictory frustrations expressed by those protests were symptomatic of a social malaise associated with neoliberalism, the power of the right-wing media, the limitations of the federal administrations led by the Workers’ Party (PT), the rapid growth of expectations in a dynamic country, and the atrophy of traditional forms of social representation. This article examines the political dilemmas posed by those movements, and suggests constructive alternatives for the left.

Opportunities and challenges for the left in Argentina

Last month Heike Schaumberg looked at Argentina's 2001 neoliberal crisis and the uprising that followed it. With a general election approaching and a Trotskyist on the presidential ballot, she asks whether the far left can make electoral gains and how that relates to the wider social movements.

The Right Wing in the Brazilian 2013 Cycle of Protests

2019

Author(s): Birchal Domingues, Leticia | Abstract: This article aims to investigate the narratives of the right-wing protestors that were present in June 2013 cycle of protest about their participation in it and some of the following interpretations and actions they had after that, especially regarding the pro-impeachment cycle, which started on the end of 2014. The aim is to have a closer look at the right-wing protestors in the 2013 cycle of protests to understand who they were, what were their practices and what principles guided them during that time. The, the paper is divided on three sections, besides its introduction and conclusion, as listed: (i) the presentation of June 2013 protests and its relations to contemporary forms of collective action; (ii) the analysis of the interviews made with 16 right-wing demonstrators in Belo Horizonte, systematizing their narratives in the concepts of actors, practices and grammars; (iii) the interviewees understandings of these protests in ...

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.