Front Matter

Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-70572-1 - Challenging Neoliberalism in Latin America Eduardo Silva Frontmatter More information

Challenging Neoliberalism in Latin America

At the turn of the 20th century, a concatenation of diverse social movements arose unexpectedly in Latin America, culminating in massive anti-free-market demonstra- tions. These events ushered in governments in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela that advocated socialization and planning, challenging the consensus over neoliberal hegemony and the weakness of movements to oppose it. Eduardo Silva offers the ﬁrst comprehensive comparative account of these extraordinary events, arguing that the shift was inﬂuenced by favorable political associational space, a reformist orientation to demands, economic crisis, and mechanisms that facilitated horizontal linkages among a wide variety of social movement organizations. His ana- lysis applies Karl Polanyi’s theory of the double movement of market society to these events, predicting the dawning of an era more supportive of government intervention in the economy and society.

Eduardo Silva is Professor of Political Science and a Fellow of the Center for Inter- national Studies at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He is the author of The State and Capital in Chile and co-editor of Organized Business, Economic Change, and Demo- cracy in Latin America and Elections and Democratization in Latin America, 1980–85.His articles have appeared in World Politics, Comparative Politics, Development and Change, Latin American Research Review, Journal of Latin American Studies, Latin American Po- litics and Society, and European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, among others.

Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics

Editors Mark Beissinger Princeton University Jack A. Goldstone George Mason University Doug McAdam Stanford University and Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences Suzanne Staggenborg University of Pittsburgh Sidney Tarrow Cornell University Charles Tilly Columbia University Elisabeth J. Wood Yale University Deborah Yashar Princeton University

Ronald Aminzade et al., Silence and Voice in the Study of Contentious Politics Javier Auyero, Routine Politics and Violence in Argentina: The Gray Zone of State Power Clifford Bob, The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International Activism Charles Brockett, Political Movements and Violence in Central America Gerald F. Davis, Doug McAdam, W. Richard Scott, and Mayer N. Zald, Social Movements and Organization Theory Jack A. Goldstone, editor, States, Parties, and Social Movements Doug McAdam, Sidney Tarrow, and Charles Tilly, Dynamics of Contention Sharon Nepstad, War Resistance and the Plowshares Movement Kevin J. O’Brien and Lianjiang Li, Rightful Resistance in Rural China Silvia Pedraza, Political Disaffection in Cuba’s Revolution and Exodus Sarah A. Soule, Contention and Corporate Responsibility Sidney Tarrow, The New Transnational Activism Ralph Thaxton, Jr., Catastrophe and Contention in Rural China: Mao’s Great Leap Forward Famine and the Origins of Righteous Resistance in Da Fo Village Charles Tilly, Contention and Democracy in Europe, 1650–2000 Charles Tilly, Contentious Performances Charles Tilly, The Politics of Collective Violence Stuart A. Wright, Patriots, Politics, and the Oklahoma City Bombing Deborah Yashar, Contesting Citizenship in Latin America: The Rise of Indigenous Movements and the Postliberal Challenge

Challenging Neoliberalism in Latin America

EDUARDO SILVA University of Missouri–St. Louis

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao˜ Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo

Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521705721

C Eduardo Silva 2009

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2009

Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Silva, Eduardo. Challenging neoliberalism in Latin America / Eduardo Silva. p. cm. – (Cambridge studies in contentious politics) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-521-87993-4 (hardback) – ISBN 978-0-521-70572-1 (pbk.) 1. Neoliberalism – Latin America. 2. Latin America – Economic policy. 3. Latin America – Social policy. 4. Latin America – Economic conditions – 1982– 5. Latin America – Politics and government – 1980– Latin America – Social movements I. Title. II. Series. HC125.S534 2009 320.51 – dc22 2009011590

ISBN 978-0-521-87993-4 Hardback ISBN 978-0-521-70572-1 Paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

For Rebecca, Raphael, and Jillian

Contents

List of Tables page x Preface and Acknowledgments xi List of Acronyms xv

1 THE INCONVENIENT FACT OF ANTI-NEOLIBERAL MASS MOBILIZATION 1 2 CONTENTIOUS POLITICS, CONTEMPORARY MARKET SOCIETY, AND POWER 14 3 THE ARGUMENT: EXPLAINING EPISODES OF ANTI-NEOLIBERAL CONTENTION IN LATIN AMERICA 43 4 ARGENTINA 56 5 BOLIVIA 103 6 ECUADOR 147 7 VENEZUELA 195 8 PERU AND CHILE 230 9 CONCLUSION 266

References 285 Index 313

List of Tables

3.1 Explaining Episodes of Anti-Neoliberal Contention page 47 4.1 Argentina: Economic and Social Indicators 63 4.2 Argentina: Presidential Elections, 1983–2007 69 4.3 Argentina: Distribution of Seats in the Chamber of Deputies, 1983–2005 69 4.4 Piquetero Membership and Control of Workfare Beneﬁts 80 4.5 Evolution of Roadblocks per District, 1997–2003 83 5.1 Bolivia: Economic and Social Indicators 111 5.2 Bolivia: Presidential Elections, 1985–2005 118 5.3 Bolivia: Distribution of Seats in the Chamber of Deputies, 1985–2005 119 6.1 Ecuador: Presidential Elections, 1984–2006 152 6.2 Ecuador: Distribution of Seats in the Chamber of Deputies, 1986–2006 153 6.3 Ecuador: Economic and Social Indicators 182 7.1 Venezuela: Economic and Social Indicators 202 7.2 Venezuela: Distribution of Seats in the Chamber of Deputies, 1988–2000 211 7.3 Venezuela: Presidential Elections, 1988–2006 212 8.1 Peru: Presidential Elections, 1980–2006 238 8.2 Peru: Distribution of Seats in the Chamber of Deputies, 1980–2006 239 8.3 Peru: Economic and Social Indicators 242 8.4 Chile: Presidential Elections, 1989–2005 257 8.5 Chile: Distribution of Seats in the Chamber of Deputies, 1989–2005 258 8.6 Chile: Economic and Social Indicators 261

Preface and Acknowledgments

This project began as a stimulating series of graduate seminars on power, social theory, and contentious politics; and so, my ﬁrst debt of gratitude goes to the students who accompanied me on that adventure. They nurtured and inspired me. We concluded that the dominant literature on transitions to market economies and liberal democracy missed important facts about those processes. It explained away inequality, denied the legitimacy of claimants when demon- strations occurred, or argued (with patent relief) that destabilizing mobilization had been vanquished. Some studies noted that radical neoliberal reformers were courting social explosion, but offered no further explanation. Yet in the midst of all that theorizing, evidence mounted that neoliberal economic, social, and political reforms were clearly contributing to mobilization by labor, the indigenous, peasants, and the popular sector in general who experienced neoliberalism as exclusion and injustice. This fact nurtured a burgeoning literature in subaltern studies that analyzed particular national or local events in contentious politics, as well as individual movements, especially the indigenous, women, shantytown dwellers, the unemployed, and labor. This rich literature celebrated their unique properties and qualities, thus emphasizing fragmentation and particularity. As valuable as these studies were, I thought they missed a bigger picture. It was time to explore what all this collective “shouting” amounted to on a broader canvas. What if the myriad protests also formed streams of contention in which movements, organizations, and individuals forged horizontal linkages out of frus- tration and rage against political elites who arrogantly and contemptuously dis- missed them? Here was fruitful material for an overarching, comparative study of anti-neoliberal contention in South America. Why did such concatenations of new and old social movements occur in some countries with radical neoliberal projects and not in others? To the extent that they ushered in governments more committed to socialization and planning, did they herald the stirrings of a coun- termovement to neoliberalism as theorized by Karl Polanyi’s double movement of capitalist society? Many institutions and people helped on this project. Joel Glassman and the Center for International Studies at the University of Missouri–St. Louis awarded

Preface and Acknowledgments

fellowships for research leaves; Dean Mark Burkholder of the College of Arts and Sciences provided equipment and authorized research leaves from teaching, most critically when I became chair of the department at the heaviest moment of writing. Lana Stein’s support as chair of the Department of Political Sci- ence was invaluable. Numerous colleagues offered encouragement, advice, and critical feedback. I would especially like to thank Tony Pereira. His invitation to present a paper on the political economy of import substitution industrialization at the Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University in 2002 started me thinking along new lines. I am also indebted to Henri Goverde for inviting me to a working conference on “Power and Hegemony” sponsored by the International Political Science Association Research Committee on Political Power at City University New York in the fall of 2004. There, Henri, Philip Cerney, Howard Lentner, and Mark Haugaard offered valuable constructive critiques of my early conceptualizations. For their various contributions I also thank Paul Drake (friend, mentor, and colleague); Ken Roberts; Marcus Kurtz; Moises Arce; David Pion-Berlin; Robert Andolina; Liisa North; Jennifer Collins; Dan Hellinger; Steve Ellner; Jorge Leon´ Trujillo; Kurt Weyland; Joel Stillerman; Marc Becker; Carmen Silva; Anni Silva; Patricio Rodrigo; Silvia Borzutsky; Pilar Domingo; Cris Kay; Patricio Silva; Michiel Baud; Kees Koonings; Willem Assies; and Marieke Denissen. Special thanks also go to Bob Baumann, UMSL Center for International Studies, who encouraged me at every turn, giving me strength to redouble my labors. I also owe credit to my research assistants Sudarsan Kant, Leesa Althen, and Sterling Recker for their invaluable efforts, especially their ability to collect data and solve practical problems. Leesa and Sterling assisted in the early stages. Sudarsan came on board just after I began writing in the fall of 2006 and therefore worked on the project the longest. His commitment, humor, and camaraderie provided lighthearted moments and a sense of shared accomplishment that sustained the drive to finish. Lana Vierdag and Raphael Hopkins, Department of Political Science staff, fiercely and selflessly protected my time after I became chair. The constructive critiques of anonymous readers for Cambridge University Press through the various stages of this project immea- surably strengthened the manuscript. Elisabeth Wood, on the editorial board of the Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics series, made excellent editorial suggestions that improved the final manuscript. Peter Katsirubas, project man- ager with Aptara, Vicky Danahy, copy editor, and Emily Spangler, assistant to Eric Crahan were a pleasure to work with. I extend special thanks to Eric Cra- han, New York Editor for History and Political Science at Cambridge University Press. He ably shaped and shepherded the project along with courtesy, profes- sionalism, and humor. Unknowingly, he even planted a seed that contributed to the writing of this book. Around the time I was conducting the graduate seminars mentioned earlier, I bought a large quantity of books on contentious politics from Cambridge at a Latin American Studies Association International Congress. He noticed and cordially asked if I had a project I wanted to discuss

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Preface and Acknowledgments

with him. Embarrassed that I had only some loose ideas I replied before leaving the exhibition booth, “No . . . but I’m working on it!” This book is dedicated to my family, el norte de mi vida. My partner Jillian, and our children Raphael and Rebecca have accompanied, sustained, molded, and guided me for more than 25 years. A great deal of them is in it; not the least, their sense of justice and fairness. I also dedicate this work to the memory of Ismael Silva Fuenzalida, anthropologist, intellectual adventurer, y mi querido Viejo;my father. Our last conversation in Santiago, Chile, in December 2003, contributed significantly to my desire to see this project through. Reflecting on more than 80 years of turbulent experiences, he said that without rational policies to reduce enduring, glaring, and grossly unjust levels of socioeconomic inequality in Latin America political stability would elude the corner of the world he cared for so deeply and for which he sacrificed so much. On this point we agreed totally. This book extends that conversation.

Eduardo Silva St. Louis, Missouri July 2009

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List of Acronyms

ABP Alianza Bravo Pueblo (Fierce Peoples’ Alliance) AD Alianza Democratica´ (Chile) (Democratic Alliance) ADN Alianza Democratica´ Nacional (National Democratic Alliance) APRA Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (Popular American Revolutionary Alliance) AP Acuerdo Patriotico´ (Patriotic Accord) AR Accion´ por la Republica´ (Action for the Republic) ARBOL Alianza Renovadora Boliviana (Bolivian Alliance for Renewal) ARI Alternativa por una Republica´ de Iguales (Alternative for a Republic of Equals) ATE Asociacion´ de Trabajadores Estatales (Association of State Employees) ATJE Alianza para el Trabajo, la Justicia, y la Educacion´ (Alliance for Work, Justice, and Education) CGT Confederacion´ General de Trabajadores (General Confederation of Workers) CGTP Confederacion´ General de Trabajadores del Peru´ (General Confederation of Workers of Peru) CMS Coordinadora de Movimientos Sociales (Social Movements Coordinator) COB Central Obrera Boliviana (Bolivian Workers Central) COMIBOL Corporacion´ Minera de Bolivia (Mining Corporation of Bolivia) CONADI Corporacion´ Nacional de Desarrollo Indıgena´ (National Corporation for Indigenous Development) CONAIE Confederacion´ Nacional de Indıgenas´ Ecuatorianos (National Confederation of Indigenous Ecuadorians) CONAMA Comision´ Nacional del Medio Ambiente (National Commission for the Environment)

List of Acronyms

CONDEPA Conciencia de la Patria (Conscience of the Fatherland) CONFENIAE Confederacion´ de Nacionalidades Indıgenas´ de la Amazonıa´ Ecuatoriana (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon) COPEI Comite´ de Organizacion´ Polıtica´ Electoral Independiente (Committee for the Organization of Independent Electoral Politics, a Christian Democratic party) CPD Concertacion´ de Partidos por la Democracia (Coalition of Parties for Democracy) CSUTCB Confederacion´ Sindical Unica de Trabajadores Campesinos Bolivianos (Unitary Syndical Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia) CTA Central de Trabajadores Argentinos (Argentine Workers Central) CTD Coordinadoras de Trabajadores Desempleados (Unemployed Workers Coordinators) CTERA Confederacion´ de Trabajadores Educacionales de la Republica´ Argentina (Confederation of Educational Workers of the Argentine Republic) CTV Confederacion´ de Trabajadores Venezolunos (Confederation of Venezuelan Workers) CUT Confederacion´ Unitaria de Trabajadores (Unitary Workers Confederation) ECUARUNARI Ecuador Runacunapac Riccarimui (Awakening of the Ecuadorian Indian) FEDECOR Federacion´ Departamental Cochabambina de Organizaciones de Regantes (Cochabamba Federation of Irrigators Organizations) Fejuve Federacion´ de Juntas Vecinales (Federation of Neighborhood Committees) FL Frente por la Libertad (Liberty Front) Frenapo Frente Nacional contra la Pobreza (National Front Against Poverty) Frepaso Frente por un Paıs´ en Solidaridad (Front for a Country in Solidarity) FTAA Free Trade Association of the Americas FTV Federacion´ Tierra y Vivienda (Land and Housing Federation) FUN Frente de Unidad Nacional (Front for National Unity) FUT Frente Unitario de Trabajadores (United Workers Front) FUTRAYEDO Frente Unico de Trabajadores Desocupados y Ocupados (United Front of Unemployed and Employed Workers)

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List of Acronyms

GDP Gross Domestic Product ILO International Labor Organization IMF International Monetary Fund ISI import-substitution industrialization IU Izquierda Unida (United Left) MAS Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Toward Socialism) MBL Movimiento Bolivia Libre (Movement for a Free Bolivia) MBR-200 Movimiento Revolucionario Bolivariano-200 (Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement) MDP Movimiento Democratico´ Popular (Popular Democratic Movement) MIP Movimiento Indigenista Pachakuti (Pachakuti Indigenous Movement) MIR Movimiento Izquierda Revolucionario (Left Revolutionary Movement) MNR Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (National Revolutionary Movement) MRTA Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru (Revolutionary Movement of Tupac Amaru) MTA Movimiento de Trabajadores Argentinos (Argentine Workers Movement) MTD Movimiento de Trabajadores Desocupados (Unemployed Workers Movement) MVR Movimiento Quinta Republica´ (Movement of the Fifth Republic) NGO Nongovernmental Organization NFR Nueva Fuerza Republicana (New Republican Force) PI Partido Intransigente (Intransigent Party) PJ Partido Justicialista ( Justicialist Party) PNP Partido Nacionalista del Peru´ (Nationalist Party of Peru) PODEMOS Poder Democratico´ y Social (Democratic and Social Power) PRVZL Proyecto Venezuela (Venezuela Project) PUAMA Pueblos Unidos Multiietnicos´ de Amazona (United Multiethinc Peoples of Amazonia) SERNAM Servicio Nacional de la Mujer (Women’s National Service) SINAMOS Sistema Nacional de Apoyo a la Movilizacion´ Social (National System for the Support of Social Mobilization) UCD Union´ del Centro Democratico´ (Union of the Democratic Center) UCR Union´ Cıvica´ Radical (Radical Civic Union) UCS Unidad Cıvica´ Solidaridad (Civic Union in Solidarity) UNA Una Nacion´ Avanzada (An Advanced Nation)

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List of Acronyms

URD Union´ Republicana Democratica´ (Republican Democratic Union) UTD Union´ de Trabajadores Desocupados (Union of Unemployed Workers) YPF Yacimientos Petrolıferos´ Fiscales (Fiscal Oil Fields)

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