The politics of neoliberalism in Latin America: dynamics of resilience and contestation (original) (raw)
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Critical Social Policy, 2018
The rejection of neoliberalism in Latin America at the time of the new millennium led to the emergence of a wave of 'post neoliberal' governments that sought to renegotiate the relationship between state and market and pioneer new forms of inclusive welfare. Supported by income from an export boom and a commitment to raising taxes, these governments attempted to implement a new economic model which bore some similarities to social democracy, alongside greater emphasis on recognition and identity politics. We ask here what accounts for the difficulties of institutionalising Leftist governance in Latin America and, in so doing, we draw attention to the embeddedness of the idea of neoliberal governance, globally and regionally. Whilst the weaknesses of the Left are real, the return of neoliberalism, now on the horizon in Latin America, fundamentally reflects the fact it is the global status quo.
Post‐neoliberalism in Latin America: Rebuilding and Reclaiming the State after Crisis
Development and Change, 2012
The idea that states should take on an enhanced role in the pursuit of development is once again becoming increasingly pronounced in the global South. In Latin America, the 'return of the state' is associated with neostructuralism or post-neoliberalism and the rise of the New Left. Post-neoliberal projects of governance seek to retain elements of the previous export-led growth model whilst introducing new mechanisms for social inclusion and welfare. In addition to being a project of growth based on exports and expanded social spending, post-neoliberalism has a distinctive political character. This article explores the pillars of the new governance project, emphasizing the citizenship claims associated with it, along with some of the tensions that arise from export-dependent growth, budget limitations, a weak tax base and the difficulties of managing enhanced social expectations. In making their argument, the authors draw on the examples of Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina.
Neoliberalism and the Dynamics of Capitalist Development in Latin America
Globalization in the 21st Century, 2010
An analysis of the dynamics of capitalist development over the last two decades has been overshadowed by an all too prevalent "globalization" discourse. It appears that much of the Left has bought into this discourse, tacitly accepting globalization as an irresistible fact and that in many ways it is progressive, needing only for the corporate agenda to be derailed and an abandonment of neoliberalism. This is certainly the case in Latin America where the Left has focused its concern almost exclusively on the bankruptcy of "neoliberalism", with reference to the agenda pursued and package of policy reforms implemented by virtually every government in the region by the dint of ideology if not the demands of the global capital or political opportunism. In this concern, imperialism and capitalism per se, as opposed to neoliberalism, have been pushed off the agenda, and as a result, excepting Chavéz's Bolivarian Revolution, the project of building socialism has virtually disappeared as an object of theory and practice. In this paper we would like to contribute towards turning this around-to resurrect the socialist project; to do so by deconstructing the discourse on "neoliberal globalization" and reconstructing the actual contemporary dynamics of capitalist development.
Development and Change 39 775 797, 2008
The term neoliberal is widely used as shorthand to describe the policy environment of the last three decades. Yet the experience of the Latin American region suggests that it is too broad a descriptor for what is in fact a sequenced, fragmented and politically indeterminate process. This article examines the evolution of social protection in the region, and argues for a more grounded, historical approach to neoliberalism, and for some analytic refinement to capture the different 'moments' in its policy evolution, its variant regional modalities, and its coexistence with earlier policies and institutional forms. It suggests that totalizing conceptions of neoliberalism as imposing an inexorable market logic with predetermined social and political outcomes fail to capture the variant modalities, adaptations and indeed resistance to the global diffusion of the structural reforms. This article outlines the systems of social welfare prevailing in Latin America prior to the reforms, and then examines the principle elements of what has been termed the 'New Social Policy' in Latin America, engaging three issues: the periodization of neoliberalism; the role of the state; and the place of politics in the neoliberal reform agenda. This article originated in a paper presented to the ESRC study group on Social Policy organized by Christopher Abel and Colin Lewis, hosted by the Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London. It draws on a study of the gender dimensions of Mexico's conditional cash transfer programme (see Molyneux, 2006, 2007) to provide some of the background context.
Latin American Perspectives, 2007
The role of ideas has been neglected, in comparison with the role of interests and institutions, in the literature on neoliberal reform in Latin America. While ideas were not the primary cause of neoliberal reform, their development, articulation, and dissemination are a significant part of the story of the rise and fall of the "Washington Consensus." The neoliberalism of the 1980s and 1990s lost credibility and capacity to provide politically feasible policy guidelines because it was based on an elitist, exclusionary pact among small groups of experts and elites representing the interests of transnational capital. Only by understanding the origins and limitations of the ideas behind neoliberal reform can a new, more inclusive economic model for Latin America be created.
Dispatches from Latin America: On the frontlines against neoliberalism
2006
Description From the laboratory of neoliberalism—popularly known as" globalization"—Latin America has transformed itself into a launching pad for resistance. As globalization began to spread its devastation, robust and thoughtful opposition emerged in response—in the recovered factory movement of Argentina, in the presidential elections of indigenous leaders and radicals like Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales, against the privatization of water in Bolivia. Across Latin America, people are building social movements to take back control of their ...
The ‘Neoliberal Turn’ and the New Social Policy in Latin America: How Neoliberal, How New?
Development and Change, 2008
The term neoliberal is widely used as shorthand to describe the policy environment of the last three decades. Yet the experience of the Latin American region suggests that it is too broad a descriptor for what is in fact a sequenced, fragmented and politically indeterminate process. This article examines the evolution of social protection in the region, and argues for a more grounded, historical approach to neoliberalism, and for some analytic refinement to capture the different 'moments' in its policy evolution, its variant regional modalities, and its coexistence with earlier policies and institutional forms. It suggests that totalizing conceptions of neoliberalism as imposing an inexorable market logic with predetermined social and political outcomes fail to capture the variant modalities, adaptations and indeed resistance to the global diffusion of the structural reforms. This article outlines the systems of social welfare prevailing in Latin America prior to the reforms, and then examines the principle elements of what has been termed the 'New Social Policy' in Latin America, engaging three issues: the periodization of neoliberalism; the role of the state; and the place of politics in the neoliberal reform agenda. This article originated in a paper presented to the ESRC study group on Social Policy organized by Christopher Abel and Colin Lewis, hosted by the Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London. It draws on a study of the gender dimensions of Mexico's conditional cash transfer programme (see Molyneux, 2006, 2007) to provide some of the background context.
THE EFFECTS OF NEOLIBERALISM ON THE ECONOMY AND POLITICS OF LATIN AMERICA
SELCUK 7th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL SCIENCES Proceeding Book, 2022
Capitalist system fell into a structural crisis in the beginning of 1970s. In order to overcome this crisis, neoliberal policies started to be implemented all over the world. Especially Latin American countries has become a real-world laboratory of neoliberal policies throughout the structural adjustment programmes in the context of Washington Consensus. Actually, these neoliberal policies are not compatible with the internal dynamics of the Latin American countries and instead of solving; they increased the problems of these countries. In this paper, the main objective is to examine the effects of the neoliberal policies on the politics and economy of Latin America. In this regard, this paper focuses on the effects of the neoliberalism on the economy by looking five major economic indicators which are growth, stability, inflation, poverty and income inequalities and then in respect to politics it concentrates on the effects of neoliberalism on the democracy.