The Distinguishing Features of Latin America’s New Left in Power

Abstract

The governments of Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), and Rafael Correa (Ecuador) share strategies, policies, and discourses that contrast with those of the center-leftists in power in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay as well as the social democratic, socialist, and classical populist experiences of the past. All three governments have triumphed at the polls with large majorities, rely on the ongoing mobilization of their followers, and embrace radical democracy based on a strong executive branch and direct popular participation in decision making as opposed to corporatist mechanisms. The three governments have been characterized by steady radicalization, their movements consist of multiclass alliances, and their economic policies have diversified commercial and technological relations. They have also established close ties with neighboring center-left governments and have promoted unity arrangements in the continent to resolve political disputes that exclude the United States. Their movements have fashioned a new narrative of nationhood that links radical goals and nationalist sentiment with traditions of political and social struggle.

The BRICs, US ‘Decline’ and Global Transformations

“…Particularly significant has been the fact that a number of these countries are large developing countries, and here we return again to the question of the BRICS. Alongside this, there have been a number of developing countries that have at least partially challenged some of the main policies of the Washington Consensus (see Chapter 3; also Ban and Blyth 2013), not only among the BRIC countries but elsewhere, particularly in Latin America (Ellner 2012). This has laid the basis for regional and wider agreements, institutions and summits by a more assertive South.…”

La reforma constitucional de Rafael Correa. El caso de la reelección presidencial en Ecuador

“…reformista en el entorno de América Latina, lo que genera un efecto demostración para el caso ecuatoriano. Este escenario se hace más evidente con las reformas más próximas promovidas en Venezuela (1999y 2009) y en Bolivia (2008 en esa misma dirección.…”

Spectrum, trajectory and the role of the state in workers' self-management

“…As a result, the government resisted workers' calls for self-management and repossession, arguing that it needed to grant special status to the organisation because of its strategic importance (Azzelini 2009: 13). 2005 was also a crucial year in that the government openly declared its commitment to 21 st Century Socialism, by which they meant the participation in the decision-making process of excluded or semi-excluded sectors of the population as opposed to the traditional working class (Ellner 2012) The last and third period (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010) consisted in an acceleration of the radicalisation process.. As usual, the President attempted to regain the political ground by launching a series of initiatives. First, confronted with a phenomenon of massive desertion in the Mission Vuelvan Caras, the government officially replaced it with the Mission Che Guevara in 2007.…”