Latin America's Turbulent Transitions: The Future of Twenty-First Century Socialism

Description

Over the past few years, something remarkable has occurred in Latin America. For the first time since the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua in the 1980s, people within the region have turned toward radical left governments - specifically in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Why has this profound shift taken place and how does this new, so-called Twenty-First-Century Socialism actually manifest itself? What are we to make of the often fraught relationship between the social movements and governments in these countries and do, in fact, the latter even qualify as 'socialist' in reality? These are the bold and critical questions that Latin America's Turbulent Transitions explores. The authors provocatively argue that although US hegemony in the region is on the wane, the traditional socialist project is also declining and something new is emerging. Going beyond simple conceptions of 'the left', the book reveals the true underpinnings of this powerful, transformative, and yet also complicated and contradictory process. More praise for Latin America’s Turbulent Transitions About the authors Title page Copyright page Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations Map Introduction: turbulent transitions and thespecter of socialism 1 | Globalization, neoliberalism, and the rise of the social movements Illustration 1 Argentine piqueteros demonstrate in Buenos Aires during the 2001–2 financial crisis The challenge of the social movements 2 | The pink tide and the challenge to US hegemony Illustration 2 The presidents of Saint Vincent and the Granadines, Bolivia, Cuba, and Venezuela Globalization and nation-state autonomy Reform left and radical left in power in Latin America 3 | Between neo-extractivism and twenty-first-century socialism Illustration 3 Bolivia begins testing to exploit the world’s largest reserve of lithium on theUyuni salt flats in November 2009 A real anti-capitalist challenge? The conundrum of the state The radical left in government Concluding perspectives on the left in power 4 | Venezuela’s twenty-first-century socialism Illustration 4 Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez flood Bolívar avenue in Caracas Revolution in an unlikely country Reclaiming control over the military and oil Challenging US hegemony Eradicating poverty by giving power to the people Building a parallel Venezuela Table 4.1 Distribution of income by quintiles (1998–2006) Table 4.2 Gini index of income distribution (1998–2006) Radicalization and the advance of socialism Bureaucracy, corruption, and popular power Twenty-first-century socialism without Chávez? 5 | Bolivia’s communitarian socialism Illustration 5 Thousands of Bolivian campesinos and indigenous farmers raise their hands during a people’s assembly in La Paz, Bolivia, in 2005 Economic roots of social revolution Nationalizing the economy ‘Refounding’ the state Resisting US imperialism and the rise of an indigenous-popular hegemony Class showdown ‘Creative tensions’ on the path to communitarian socialism 6 | Ecuador’s buen vivir socialism, by Marc Becker Illustration 6 An indigenous Ecuadoran blows a conch shell at the opening march for the June 2010 Meeting of Original Peoples and Nations of Abya Yala in Quito, Ecuador Citizens’ revolution Economic policies Anti-imperialism Extractive enterprises Whither Ecuador? 7 | Brazil: between challenging hegemony and embracing it Illustration 7 Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff attend a campaign rally in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo Dictatorship The birth of the PT and the MST Foreign policy – ‘South–South relations’ Domestic policy – ‘cautious, calm … solid’ Poverty alleviation Big business – big winners Social movements – socialism and decline Neo-extractivism and renewable energy Trade policy – neo-developmentalism and contradictions Beyond Lula Challenging hegemony and embracing it 8 | Cuba: ‘updating’ twentieth-century socialism? Illustration 8 Santiago de Cuba, 2010 Conclusion: socialism and the long Latin American spring Illustration 9 Seven hundred women from Vía Campesina and Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement march against a eucalyptus plantation in Rio Grandedo Sul, Brazil Appendix: nationwide elections in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador Notes Introduction 1 Globalization 2 The pink tide 3 Neo-extractivism and socialism 4 Venezuela’s socialism 5 Bolivia’s socialism 6 Ecuador’s socialism 7 Brazil 8 Cuba Conclusion Bibliography Index About Zed Books