Blog Post #1 Debs

Democracy is a form of government that is built around the people. Through free and fair elections the people have the opportunity to voice their opinions and demand the change they want to see. In the Holzner article, we read and learn that the implementation of neoliberal reforms worsened the people’s level of participation in Mexico and other Latin American countries. It also worsened the economy. These free markets have devastated the average Mexicans life and other countries. According to an article I read, “The privatization programs are estimated to have created 24 billionaires”. These private programs should have no right to do what they have been doing. They have made themselves richer and have left the lower classes in shambles. Neoliberalism is implemented when the government gets too big and interferes too much in the economy. These Neoliberal policies are creating tax cuts for the rich, which allows them to become even wealthier. Neoliberalism seems to produce poverty, in my opinion. The poor people in these Latin American countries have become more and more discouraged. These lower classes are not able to voice their opinions and it is only getting worse. I believe these Neoliberal Reforms need to be slowly reversed. In class, we learned that Neoliberalism could be slowly reversed if the government takes back more power and focuses on redistribution. This will reduce the amount of money that these super wealthy programs and people have. Next, the people have to push their government to erode the social hierarchies. By doing this, people will not be judged on race, sex, age, and religion. This will help the people of the country to regain confidence and have more faith that their race, sex, age, or religion cannot stop them from progressing. Lastly, the people and government can focus on the empowerment of marginalized groups. This will positively impact the lives of many people in these struggling countries.