The Shift to the Left
Levitsky and Roberts discuss at the length the rise of the left in Latin American politics. The rise started with Chavez in Venezuela and continued with elections in Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, among others. Much of the result of this rise was due to the debt crisis in the decade prior. The debt crisis was worsened by Washington Consensus policies, and it fueled a great backlash domestically–hence the move to the left. The end of the Cold War was a critical geopolitical event that had cultural implications. There was no longer a fear that a turn to the left was an alliance with the Soviet Union. A common misconception is that leftist governments seek to implement a strict socialist policy. The authors countered this narrative: “The Left in Latin America is no longer defined by a commitment to a socialist model of development. Instead, its commitments to equality, social justice, and popular participation produce an open-ended struggle for social transform” (Levitsky and Roberts). In my research paper, I will specifically examine the social justice side of this turn to the left specifically regarding marriage equality in Argentina. This shift to a social justice focus in particular has strongly impacted the campaign there. The appeal of the left exists with investment in the middle and working classes. The right often keeps an appeal in the working class due to the religious component.
The authors go on to cite the electoral competition as the reason leftist groups failed to gain power before. This was seen in Mexico with the PRI and also with Ecuador with Shining Path turning to terrorism. In the past, leftist governments were elected only to shift to the right after election. The authors also make two distinctions between types of leftist uprisings. In places where there a history of dictatorship and an economic burden of the debt crisis, leftist movements worked within the existing order; in places where there was a history of struggling democracy and neoliberal backlash, the status quo in the institution of the system was challenged.
In the textbook, Smith and Sells elaborate on this geopolitical landscape that allowed the left to rise more easily. Prior to the end of the Cold War, the left was normally boxed into a corner of supporting the Soviets and advancing American hostility–which was often against their macroeconomic interests. Post 1990, the left could seek implementation of its platform while still keeping American alliances. In my opinion, this was the biggest reason for the rise of the left especially given the timing of it.
In illustrate this in politics today, we once again must turn to Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela is becoming increasing dictatorial. Mr. Maduro recently suspended the Congress and put their affairs under the control of the Supreme Court under which he has manipulated to have de facto control over due to friendly appointments. This is where the turn to the left is going very badly. The opposition and demos are protesting, but Mr. Maduro has remained in power longer than most thought he would. Most foreign policy analysts think that his time is limited however.
In Argentina, leftist president Kirchner recently preceded Mauricio Macri of the more conservative Republican Party. The people of Argentina became disenchanted with Ms. Kirchner’s left policies and corruption scandals and wanted to turn to the more free market policies of Mr. Macri.
To conclude, while the rise of the left has been a strong force, there are indications that a move to the right is happening in some places.
Great overview of the differences between Cold War and contemporary Leftism in Latin America. It seems that when a Right-wing party fails to address economic and social challenges, the people turn to the Left. However, as you highlighted, the Left’s failure to deliver their campaign promises regarding redistribution, social justice, and popular participation (not to mention Venezuela’s turn towards authoritarianism) may give room for the Right to reemerge as a political force. Does the Right have the same mass appeal that the Left does? Where do you see a reemerging Right’s base of support coming from? Would the lower-classes, who were not helped at all really by neoliberal reforms, align with the Right just because the Left is mired down by corruption scandals and institutional ineffectiveness? I wonder if a new Right would also change its focus to social over economic issues, as the Left did in the post-Cold War era.
You did a great job explaining the shift to the left and where you see Latin American politics heading from here. One thing you pointed out was how some leftist governments are taking advantage of their power, like Maduro in Venezuela, and are shifting towards authoritarianism instead of democracy. I think this will spook voters away from left-leaning political candidates and we will see a trend of elections going towards the right. But this is met with some tension considering the current drop in oil prices putting oil-reliant economies on the fringe. Voters may prefer candidates that oppose capitalism to ensure their livelihood won’t be effected by the international oil market. This tension between the right and left in upcoming elections will be very interesting to watch play out.
I agree that the Debt Crisis had a huge impact in the tolerance and support for leftist policies in Latin America. Furthermore, I agree that the Washington Consensus made circumstances worse; but I learned from a Politics of the Developing World class that transition to capitalism will make things worse before they get better, as is the case with any major economic reform. I believe that the main reason for the left turn, was that policies to liberalize the economy made things worse but instead of sticking with the system that would generate growth later on, the marginalized majority supported leftist nationalist and anti-capitalist policies in the quest for social justice rather than economic growth.
I like the distinction between the Cold War era of regimes and the shift to the left, I dont know if “the left could seek implementation of its platform while still keeping American alliances” was the biggest reason the way I see it is that the right authoritarianism reached its peak and it was the natural swing of things. I wonder if the left leaning governments seeing the shift back towards the right will either change their platforms or become more entrenched in their policies. I am nervous that with lacking economic growth the population will turn to authoritarianism instead of democracy because authoritarian regimes can react quickly to a economic crisis.
Your post is very well written and it brings up some great points relevant to Mexico and the upcoming elections in 2018. We know Maduro and Chavez in Venezuela have been a damage to their own people and the region as a whole. As of right now, and since 2006, a leftist populist has risen in Mexico with the name Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador from Morena party (previously PRD). This would be a catastrophic event, if elected in Mexico, due to his praise of Chavez, and his “low education level”. This left turn as it has come to be known has become a danger to countries all around the region, and I for one believe if Lopez Obrador gets elected, Latin America may see some dark times ahead.