Post-neoliberalism in Latin America?

Abstract

The landslide elections in the mid-2000s of so-called ‘pink’ (or ‘left-leaning’) governments in Latin America constituted a milestone in the region’s historical development. They occurred in a climate of intense social conflict, and apparently signalled the conclusion of a long crisis that had defined, for a quarter of a century, the interrelated developmental cycles of political and economic liberalization in the region. Not surprisingly, the ‘pink tide’ immediately attracted significant media and academic interest across the political spectrum. Hugo Chavez’s landmark victory in Venezuela’s 1998 presidential election was followed by the successive elections of presidential candidates in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Panama, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras who characterized themselves and have generally been characterized as ‘left-leaning’, ‘anti-neoliberal’ and ‘anti-imperialist’ (Cameron 2009; Robinson 2008; Lievesley and Ludlam 2009).¹