boiler
4th November 2013, 00:46
Between hype and hubris: a communist perspective on revolutionary prospects in Latin America
For almost a decade, the political developments in Latin American have been a topic of considerable discussion and debate within academia, the mainstream media and among ‘the Left’ (broadly defined). Much of this attention, however, has been relegated to assessments of electoral movements and events and has especially focused on governments that have been categorized as ‘left of centre’ and as such, the debate has been predominantly between those who almost uncritically support these governments and those who outright dismiss these processes.
It shouldn’t surprising then that when these complex and contradictory political processes in Latin America are examined, the critiques are more often then not centred on those in positions of leadership in government as well as their electoral apparatus. From a revolutionary perspective, certainly the positions and trajectory of governments cannot be ignored but neither can the relationship and orientation of mass movements to these governments. Omission of this critical component leads to two main errors in evaluations of the current political moment in Latin America.
On the one hand is the interpretation of what is taking place in Latin America as more or less an electoral process, albeit with varying degrees of engagement from social movements in and around these electoral projects. The so-called ‘pink tide’ theory, which emanates largely from liberal/social democratic/NGO sectors, seeks to reduce the current political conjuncture in Latin America to an electoral domino effect, where charismatic ‘left’ leaders and their emergent parties are building from each others momentum, capturing the imagination and aspirations of the people in successive elections across the region. This view sees governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile (up until the election of Sebastian Pinera), Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay (during the brief government of Francisco Lugo), Uruguay and Venezuela as part of a unified and regional electoral ‘trend’.
MUCH MORE…
http://ri-ir.org/2013/11/02/between-hype-and-hubris-a-communist-perspective-on-revolutionary-prospects-in-latin-america/
For almost a decade, the political developments in Latin American have been a topic of considerable discussion and debate within academia, the mainstream media and among ‘the Left’ (broadly defined). Much of this attention, however, has been relegated to assessments of electoral movements and events and has especially focused on governments that have been categorized as ‘left of centre’ and as such, the debate has been predominantly between those who almost uncritically support these governments and those who outright dismiss these processes.
It shouldn’t surprising then that when these complex and contradictory political processes in Latin America are examined, the critiques are more often then not centred on those in positions of leadership in government as well as their electoral apparatus. From a revolutionary perspective, certainly the positions and trajectory of governments cannot be ignored but neither can the relationship and orientation of mass movements to these governments. Omission of this critical component leads to two main errors in evaluations of the current political moment in Latin America.
On the one hand is the interpretation of what is taking place in Latin America as more or less an electoral process, albeit with varying degrees of engagement from social movements in and around these electoral projects. The so-called ‘pink tide’ theory, which emanates largely from liberal/social democratic/NGO sectors, seeks to reduce the current political conjuncture in Latin America to an electoral domino effect, where charismatic ‘left’ leaders and their emergent parties are building from each others momentum, capturing the imagination and aspirations of the people in successive elections across the region. This view sees governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile (up until the election of Sebastian Pinera), Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay (during the brief government of Francisco Lugo), Uruguay and Venezuela as part of a unified and regional electoral ‘trend’.
MUCH MORE…
http://ri-ir.org/2013/11/02/between-hype-and-hubris-a-communist-perspective-on-revolutionary-prospects-in-latin-america/