Reclaiming Latin America: Experiments in Radical Social Democracy

Cover
......Page 1
Contents......Page 6
List of tables and box......Page 7
Table 0.1 Latin America’s ‘pink tide’ of presidential election winners since 1998......Page 17
Table 6.1 Sandinista electoral performance, nationwide elections, 1984–2004......Page 123
Table 6.3 Nicaraguan national election results, 2006......Page 127
Table 12.1 Growth of the Argentine economy, 2002–07......Page 222
Box 2.1 Invoking history and identity......Page 61
Acknowledgements......Page 8
Acronyms......Page 9
Introduction: a ‘pink tide’?......Page 14
The temptation of oversimplification......Page 16
A ‘new continentalism’?......Page 18
Low-intensity representation......Page 21
Realignment on the left......Page 23
Citizenship under ‘pink tide’ governments......Page 25
Norms and types......Page 27
The spectre of populism haunting colonial supremacism......Page 29
Part One | The left in Latin America......Page 32
1 | Is Latin America moving leftwards? Problems and prospects......Page 34
Different strategies, the same objectives?......Page 37
Historical antecedents: another form of revisionism?......Page 39
The contemporary period: avoiding the mistakes of the past......Page 43
Radical social democracy and popular empowerment......Page 47
2 | The Latin Americanization of the politics of emancipation......Page 50
Cultural resistance......Page 51
Particularities of Latin American society......Page 54
Dictatorship, neoliberalism and the rise of social movements......Page 57
The nationalization of the politics of emancipation......Page 60
Conclusion......Page 66
Notes......Page 67
Part Two | Case studies
......Page 68
3 | Venezuela: the political evolution of Bolivarianism......Page 70
The evolution of Bolivarianism......Page 71
Bolivarianism phase 1: constitutionalism and moderation......Page 72
Bolivarianism phase 2: conflict and radicalization......Page 76
Bolivarianism phase 3: towards Twenty-first-century Socialism......Page 85
4 | Venezuela: reinventing social democracy from below?......Page 88
Conceptualizing Chavismo......Page 89
Conceptualizing social democracy......Page 90
Popular politics in La Vega, Venezuela......Page 92
Conclusion: beyond liberal democracy and markets in Venezuela – counter-hegemony in action......Page 101
Note......Page 103
5 | Bolivia: playing by new rules......Page 104
Political legacies......Page 105
Economic liberalization and its critics......Page 107
Social movements and their efficacy......Page 108
Party implosion......Page 110
The MAS in office......Page 111
Reasserting the primacy of the state......Page 112
The Constituent Assembly and the vexed issue of ‘autonomism’......Page 114
The social agenda......Page 117
Bolivia and the outside world......Page 118
Conclusion......Page 120
6 | Nicaragua: the return of Daniel Ortega......Page 122
The return to power: a saga in several parts......Page 125
Learning from Nicaragua......Page 134
‘Plan Bush’ and Bolivarianism......Page 136
Cuban exceptionalism: regime change and retail therapy?......Page 138
Equality......Page 142
Equality of access......Page 143
Equality of income and wealth......Page 144
Economic democracy......Page 146
The ‘political power of the workers’......Page 149
Conclusion......Page 151
Note......Page 152
8 | Mexico: political parties and local participation......Page 153
Mexico’s democratization and decentralization processes......Page 155
Neoliberalism and the PRD’s political trajectory......Page 156
Governance in Mexico......Page 158
The different discourses of governance......Page 159
Conclusions......Page 163
9 | Brazil: has the dream ended?......Page 166
Reality check......Page 167
Growth at any cost......Page 171
Social welfare......Page 174
Agrarian reform......Page 176
Lula and the environment......Page 178
Brazil and Latin America......Page 181
Conclusion......Page 182
10 | Brazil: third ways in the Third World......Page 183
Distinguishing the left in Brazil......Page 184
Reformism in Ceará and radicalism in Rio Grande do Sul......Page 185
State planning, participation and finance......Page 187
Literacy campaigns and decentralization......Page 188
School democracy and party–union relations......Page 190
Student performance, evaluation and continuing challenges......Page 191
Conclusion......Page 193
Note......Page 195
11 | Chile: swimming against the tide?......Page 196
Allende, Pinochet and the social democratization of theChilean left......Page 197
Neoliberalism and the consolidation of market economics in Chile......Page 201
Checks and balances under the Concertación governments......Page 203
The technocratization of decision-making......Page 207
The future of Chile’s social democratic model......Page 210
12 | Argentina: reforming neoliberal capitalism......Page 212
Latin America, Argentina and Peronism......Page 213
The ‘convertibility regime’ and Argentina’s transformismo......Page 214
The conservative–neoliberal legacy and national popular change......Page 216
The IMF, social security, agribusiness and financing of development......Page 217
The region as a framework of development......Page 221
State strengthening and new alliances......Page 224
Conclusion......Page 227
Conclusion: Nuestra América – the spectre haunting Washington......Page 230
Different perspectives, different expectations......Page 233
The vexed issue of populism......Page 235
A social democratic continuum?......Page 237
Notes on contributors......Page 243
Bibliography......Page 246
Index......Page 268