Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page i THE NEW LATIN AMERICAN LEFT Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page ii Transnational Institute Founded in 1974, the Transnational Institute (TNI) is an international network of activist-scholars committed to critical analyses of the global problems of today and tomorrow, with a view to providing intellectual support to those movements concerned to steer the world in a democratic, equitable and environmentally sustainable direction. In the spirit of public scholarship, and aligned to no political party, TNI seeks to create and promote international co-operation in analysing and finding possible solu- tions to such global problems as militarism and conflict, poverty and marginalisation, social injustice and environmental degradation. Email: [email protected] Website: www.tni.org Telephone + 31 20 662 66 08 Fax + 31 20 675 71 76 De Wittenstraat 25 1052 AK Amsterdam The Netherlands Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page iii The New Latin American Left Utopia Reborn Edited by Patrick Barrett, Daniel Chavez and César Rodríguez-Garavito Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page iv First published 2008 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA www.plutobooks.com Copyright © Patrick Barrett, Daniel Chavez and César Rodríguez-Garavito 2008 The right of the individual contributors to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7453 2639 9 Hardback ISBN 978 0 7453 2677 1 Paperback Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin. The paper may contain up to 70 per cent post-consumer waste. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Curran Publishing Services, Norwich Printed and bound in the European Union by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page v CONTENTS Acronyms and other terms viii Preface and acknowledgements xv 1. Utopia reborn? Introduction to the study of the new Latin American left 1 César Rodríguez-Garavito, Patrick Barrett and Daniel Chavez Significance and origins of the ‘new’ left 5 Characteristics of the new Latin American left 12 Between neo-liberalism and democracy 17 The actors on the new left: movements, parties and governments 31 Structure of the book 37 Notes 39 2. Brazil. Lula’s government: a critical appraisal 42 Félix Sánchez, João Machado Borges Neto and Rosa Maria Marques The rise of the PT to government 43 Lula’s economics 48 Agrarian and social policies 53 Brazil’s insertion into the globalised economy 58 The results of the 2006 elections and beyond 62 Lula’s government: a leftist government? 64 Notes 68 3. Venezuela. Populism and the left: alternatives to neo-liberalism 69 Edgardo Lander The pact of Punto Fijo and the left 69 The prolonged crisis of puntofijismo 71 [v] Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page vi CONTENTS Populism and the left in the chavista project 76 Representative democracy and participatory democracy 79 Alternatives to neo-liberalism: the economic model 83 The Venezuelan process in the regional and international context 90 Electoral processes and the future of the Bolivarian revolution 93 Notes 97 4. Uruguay. The left in government: between continuity and change 99 Daniel Chavez The unification and rise of the left 100 The left in government: the experience of Montevideo 104 From the electoral project to the political project 110 Economic policy: the ongoing debate 120 Reviving utopia? 125 Notes 127 5. Colombia. The new left: origins, trajectory and prospects 129 César Rodríguez-Garavito Antecedents and factors behind the emergence of the new left 131 Evolution and composition of the new left 140 The proposals of the left 148 Conclusion: the prospects of the new left 154 Notes 157 6. Argentina. The left, parties and movements: strategies and prospects 158 Federico L. Schuster A brief history of the Argentine left 158 Society and politics during the crisis 162 The political legacy of the crisis 168 The political left, social movements and institutional reorganisation 171 Possible strategies and future prospects 178 Notes 184 [vi] Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page vii CONTENTS 7. Mexico. Yearnings and utopias: the left in the third millennium 186 Armando Bartra Genealogy 186 Cartographies 198 Directions 210 8. Bolivia. The left and the social movements 215 Luis Tapia A brief history of the Bolivian left in the twentieth century 215 The contemporary left in Bolivia 219 The proposals of the contemporary left 224 The linkage of social movements and parties 226 Conclusion: prospects and strategies of the new left 227 Notes 231 9. Promises and challenges. The Latin American left at the start of the twenty-first century 232 Atilio A. Boron Challenging la pensée unique 232 The paradoxical crisis of neo-liberalism 233 Why now? 236 The curse of conservative ‘possibilism’ 242 The difficult transition to post-neo-liberalism 246 The left and democracy 248 Historical challenges of the left at the beginning of the new century 251 10. Depolarised pluralities. A left with a future 255 Boaventura de Sousa Santos The phantasmagorical relation between theory and practice 255 The twenty-first century left 259 Unproductive questions 263 Productive questions 266 Conclusion: a left with a future 271 Bibliography 273 Index 289 [ vii ] Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page viii ACRONYMS AND OTHER TERMS AD Acción Democrática (Democratic Action, Venezuela) AD–M-19 Alianza Democrática M-19 (M-19 Democratic Alliance, Colombia) ADN Acción Democrática Nacionalista party (Nationalist Democratic Action, Bolivia) ALBA Alternativa Bolivariana para la América (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) ANAPO Alianza Nacional Popular (National Popular Alliance, Colombia) APC Alianza Patriótica para el Cambio (Patriotic Alliance for Change, Paraguay) ARENA Aliança Renovadora Nacional (National Renovation Alliance, Brazil) CARICOM Caribbean Community CCC Corriente Clasista y Combativa (Militant and Class- based Current, Argentina) CCZ Centro Comunal Zonal (District Communal Centre, Uruguay) CGT Confederação Geral do Trabalho (General Labour Confederation, Brazil); Confederación General del Trabajo (General Workers’ Confederation, Argentina) CND Convención Nacional Democrática (National Democratic Convention, Mexico) CNI Congreso Nacional Indígena (National Indigenous Congress, Mexico) CNTE Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (National Co-ordinator of Education Workers, Mexico) Cocopa Comision de Concordia y Pacificación (Commission of Concordance and Peace, Mexico) CONAIE Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Ecuador) [ viii ] Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page ix ACRONYMS AND OTHER TERMS Conamup Coordinadora Nacional del Movimiento Urbano Popular (National Coordinator of Popular Urban Movements, Mexico) COPEI Comité de Organización Política Electoral Indepen- diente (Committee of Independent Electoral Political Organisations, Venezuela) CNDAV Comisión Nacional en Defensa. del Agua y de la Vida. (National Commission in Defence of Water and Life, Uruguay) CNPA Coordinadora Nacional del Plan Ayala (National Co-ordinator of the Ayala Plan, Mexico) COB Central Obrera Boliviana (Bolivian Workers’ Confederation) CR Causa R (Radical Cause, Venezuela) CSUTCB Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia (Confederation of Peasant Workers’ Unions of Bolivia) CTA Central de Trabajadores Argentinos (Confederation of Argentine Workers) CTV Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela (Confederation of Venezuelan Workers) CUT Central Unica dos Trabalhadores (Unified Workers’ Confederation, Brazil,); Central Unitaria de Traba- jadores (Unitary Workers’ Confederation; Colombia) EBR 200 Ejército Bolivariano Revolucionario (Revolutionary Bolivarian Army 200) ELN Ejército de Liberación Nacional (Army of National Liberation, Colombia) EP Encuentro Progresista (Progressive Encounter, Uruguay) EP-FA/NM Encuentro Progresista-Frente Amplio/Nueva Mayoría (Progressive Encounter-Broad Front/New Majority, Uruguay) EPL Ejército Popular de Liberación (People’s Army of Liberation, Colombia) ERP Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (People’s Revo- lutionary Army, Argentina) EU European Union EZLN Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (Zapatista National Liberation Army, Mexico) [ix] Barrett 00 Prelims.qxd 31/07/2008 14:41 Page x ACRONYMS AND OTHER TERMS FA Frente Amplio (Broad Front, Uruguay) FAR Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (Armed Revolu- tionary Forces, Argentina) FARC Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) FDN Frente Democrático Nacional (National Democratic Front, Mexico) FEDECAMARAS Federación de Cámaras de Comercio y Producción (Federation of Chambers of Commerce and of Production, Venezuela) FHC Fernando Henrique Cardoso FNAP Frente Nacional de Acción Popular (National Front for Popular Action, Mexico) FNT Fórum Nacional do Trabalho (National Labour Forum, Brazil) FORA Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (Regional Workers Federation of Argentina) FREPASO Frente País Solidario (Front for a Country of Solidarity, Argentina) FSLN Frente Sandinista