Deepening Democracy In Post Neoliberal Bolivia And Venezuela

This book provides a timely and nuanced analysis of the successes and shortcoming of efforts to move beyond market democracy in Bolivia and Venezuela. A twin crisis of democratic representation and socio-economic precarity created space for anti-system outsiders to emerge on the left flank of traditional party-systems in Bolivia and Venezuela, paving the way for a "post-neoliberal" democratization process. Over the course of the projects headed by Evo Morales in Bolivia and Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, however, power struggles emerged between a recalcitrant elite, the left-led government, and organized popular sectors. These tensions shaped the pathways that processes followed, with simultaneous democratization and de-democratization occurring whereby a partial deepening and extending of democratic quality for popular sectors was accompanied by the bending of liberal norms. Comparing the varying balance and forms of power between competing actors, this book offers a novel and rich explanation of the partial and stuttering efforts to advance a post-neoliberal democracy in Bolivia and Venezuela. Bringing important insights on the reasons for the emergence of anti-system leaders and parties, the impact that they have on the quality of democracy, and how progressive governments interact with social movements, this book will be of interest to researchers studying Latin America, as well as those specializing in development and political science more broadly.

This book provides a timely and nuanced analysis of the successes and shortcoming of efforts to move beyond market democracy in Bolivia and Venezuela. It will be of interest to researchers studying Latin America, as well as those specialising in development and political science more broadly.

This book investigates why Chile suddenly confronted a violent social revolt in October 2019, after almost thirty years of political stability, during which time the country was broadly regarded as Latin America’s most successful nation. Since democratic restoration in 1990, Chile’s relatively high levels of political stability, increasing prosperity and social modernisation have stood out in a region shaken by political convulsion and economic malaise. In early October 2019, President Sebastián Piñera confidently claimed that Chile represented a true ‘oasis’ of political stability and economic vitality in Latin America. However, just weeks later, the announcement of a small increase in the price of Santiago’s underground transport system unleashed an unprecedented wave of violent anti-government protests in the country, with protestors ultimately demanding Piñera’s resignation and the end of neoliberalism and the 1980 Constitution, among many other demands. This book analyses the causes of Chile’s socio-political upheaval, arguing that the fast social and economic modernisation produced by the neoliberal system led to a series of destabilising socio-political processes in the country. At a time when much analysis of the October uprising tends to be superficial or polarised on ideological grounds, this book provides a much-needed sociological and institutional analysis of the crisis. It will be an important read for scholars of Latin American politics and development, as well as those with a broader interest in state legitimacy, social movements and political contestation against neoliberalism.

This book provides a fresh interpretation of the rise and fall of Latin America’s ‘left turn’, or movement towards more progressive economic or social policies. From a historical and comparative perspective, the book argues that Latin America is entering a new phase of authoritarian statism. Based on over 10 years of research on Latin American political economy and social movements, including years of fieldwork in Chile, Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina, this book combines the stories of individuals and groups in particular situations with the macro-level political and economic trajectory of the region since the postwar period. The book draws on over 100 interviews with community activists, workers, union leaders, politicians, journalists, and NGOs, as well as archival work. In addition, the book uses up-to-date national and regional economic data, including both standard and heterodox development indicators. By engaging with key case studies including Argentina’s recovered enterprises, Chile’s student movement, Brazil’s free transit movement, and Venezuela’s popular economy, this book analyzes the complex relationship between "post-capitalist struggles" and the governance models of the "pink tide", the wave of left governments that began to sweep the region at the turn of the century. This book will be of interest to researchers across politics, development, Latin American studies and social movement studies. The original data and analysis of the relationship between social movements and governments will also benefit policymakers and those working within the NGO sector.

This book analyses the victory of Gabriel Boric in Chile during the presidential elections of December 2021. He brought the radical left into power, after three decades of centre- left and right- wing governments. In order to explain this abrupt political mutation in the country, the book explores a series of fast and deep social and cultural transformations experienced in the country in the last decades. In addition, the book considers the main features of the new Boric government both in terms of goals and in terms of performance in his first year in office in several key areas of policy making. The triumph of the radical left in Chile poses several questions regarding the ability of the Boric administration to guarantee political and economic stability in the country. Among the greatest challenges the Boric government will have to face in the coming years are the reduction of inflation, the reactivation of the economy, the regulation of illegal immigration and the improvement of public security among the population. This book constitutes the first major academic attempt in the English language to provide a broad analysis of the Boric government in Chile and the changes the country will experience in the years ahead. The book will be of interest to students, scholars and practitioners who are interested in the evolution of the Latin American left in general, and the Chilean left in particular. The book has been conceived from a multidisciplinary perspective, including insights coming from history, sociology, political science, economics, institutional law and development studies.

This book investigates how non-state actors have become key drivers of the diffusion of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Brazil. The UN ranks Brazil as the most biodiverse country in the world, but the country’s environment has never been under greater threat, with the rise of multiple crises bringing mounting challenges to socioeconomic development and environmental protection. As state support has fallen away, non-state actors have actively engaged and eventually mobilized other social actors towards the promotion of the SDGs and the implementation of the UN agenda. This book asks why it is that non-state actors have dedicated so much time, effort and resources to promote a non-binding agenda that was ratified by and is mainly assigned to state actors. Looking at the roles of academia, civil society, and the private sector, the book explores the different ways in which these social actors make sense of and translate the 2030 Agenda into practice within their respective local contexts. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, this book sheds light on a series of challenges, opportunities and contradictions within the global agenda and its implementation. Assessing what the Brazil case can teach us about the diffusion of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs more broadly, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Sustainable Development, Latin America Studies and Environmental Politics as well as sustainable development researchers and policy makers.

This book examines the tensions and convergences between social movements and twenty-first century progressive Latin American governments. Focusing on feminist, indigenous, environmental, rural, and labor movements, leading scholars present a well-rounded picture on a controversial topic and argue against the accepted view that robust Latin American social movements are independent of the state. This cutting-edge book will be an invaluable supplement for Latin American studies and beyond for courses on democracy, peace studies, labor studies, gender studies, and ethnic studies.