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Abstract
Latin America has changed dramatically over the past few years. While the 1990s were dominated by the politically orthodoxy of the Washington Consensus and the political uniformity of centre right governments the first decade of the new century is being characterised by the emergence of a plurality of economic and political alternatives.
In an overview of the history of the region over the past twenty-five years this book traces the intellectual and political origins of the Washington Consensus, assesses its impact on democracy and economic development and discusses whether the emergence of a variety of left-wing governments in the region represents a clear break with the politics and policies of the Washington Consensus. Clearly written and rigorously argued the book will be of interest to academics, students of Latin American politics and anybody interested in understanding contemporary Latin America.
Francisco Panizza is Senior Lecturer in Latin American Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and studied politics in Brazil and England. He has taught in universities in Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico and England where he lives since 1979. His research interests are populism, democracy, and the politics of economic reform. He combines his academic career with consultancy and journalism. He is a frequent contributor to the BBC, Bloomberg TV and several Latin American newspaper and radio networks.
'An intelligent, up-to-date and accessible account of the contemporary political economy of Latin America from one of the leading scholars on the region. Francisco Panizza weaves together a compelling narrative around the emergence of left of centre governments in the context of the troubled engagement between democracy and the market in the region. It is a significant contribution to debates about how we understand and label Latin America's new left and deserves to be very widely read.'
Jean Grugel, University of Sheffield
'Francisco Panizza has long been an astute observer of democratisation, political economy and ideological change in Latin America. As the post-neoliberal landscape has slowly come into focus in the current decade, what we have lacked is an integrated perspective on the full range of interactions between models of development and democratic sustainability in the region. In Contemporary Latin America, Panizza gives us a complete cyclical analysis of the so-called Washington Consensus: before, during and after. This insightful contribution carefully traces the diverse political reactions to the neoliberal agenda, uncovering the causal factors behind populist, reformist and left-wing responses to developmental change.'
Timothy Power, University of Oxford
'This book is an authoritative, nuanced, and comprehensive treatment of the major economic and political developments in Latin America over the last three decades. Analyzing regional trends for over three decades, it is impressive in its reach as well as depth of coverage. Panizza brings much perspective and balance to bear on some of the most contentious issues facing Latin America in contemporary times.'
Wendy Hunter, University of Texas
Table of Contents
Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
---|---|---|---|
About the author | i | ||
Introduction | 1 | ||
1 | Paradigm found: in search of the Washington Consensus | 9 | ||
What was the Washington Consensus? | 9 | ||
The historical roots of the free market reformation | 14 | ||
Democratization, economic crisis and economic reform | 17 | ||
Political order, economic crises and the new economic narrative | 22 | ||
Conclusion | 29 | ||
2 | The organic intellectuals of the Washington Consensus | 31 | ||
The power of international financial institutions | 31 | ||
The changing role of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund | 33 | ||
Imposition, persuasion and consent | 36 | ||
The limits and impact of the IMF’s and the WB’s policy prescriptions | 44 | ||
Conclusion | 49 | ||
3 | The ascent of free market economics: an economic reformation with popular support? | 51 | ||
Presidential mandates and the politics of reform | 52 | ||
The institutional underpinnings of free market reforms | 55 | ||
The role of interests in processes of reform | 58 | ||
Sources of popular support for the reforms | 63 | ||
New relations between the state and society | 66 | ||
Conclusion | 71 | ||
4 | Democracy and its promises | 73 | ||
The rebirth of democracy | 75 | ||
The new democratic compact | 78 | ||
Civil society, political parties, the left and the return to democracy | 82 | ||
The new liberal democratic culture | 86 | ||
The underside of democracy | 89 | ||
Conclusions | 96 | ||
5 | Democracy and markets: contestation and consent | 98 | ||
Democracy, conflict and accommodation | 98 | ||
The weakening of contestation from below | 102 | ||
The mediating role of political institutions | 108 | ||
Conclusions | 117 | ||
6 | Paradigm lost: the unravelling of the Washington Consensus | 121 | ||
The Miami consensus and the Tequila crisis | 121 | ||
The Washington Consensus reassessed: the view from within | 124 | ||
The social question and the halt in economic growth | 129 | ||
The case of Argentina | 133 | ||
The blame game | 136 | ||
Conclusions | 140 | ||
7 | The opening of a paradigm: growth, equity and democracy | 142 | ||
A changing paradigm | 143 | ||
The intellectual roots of the PWC | 145 | ||
The World Bank’s and the International Monetary Fund’s new approaches to development | 148 | ||
New wine in old bottles? | 154 | ||
The reframing of development: ECLAC and the IADB | 158 | ||
The politics of the new development agenda | 161 | ||
Conclusions | 163 | ||
8 | The rise of the left | 168 | ||
A change in Latin America’s political landscape? | 168 | ||
The social democratic, populist and grassroots lefts | 170 | ||
The rise of the left | 178 | ||
Democracy, representation and varieties of the left | 185 | ||
Table 8.1 Forms of political representation | 193 | ||
Conclusions | 194 | ||
9 | Left governments and the deepening of democracy | 197 | ||
Democratizing democracy | 197 | ||
Chávez’s Venezuela: the politics of polarization | 200 | ||
Lula da Silva’s Brazil: the politics of accommodation | 211 | ||
Comparing Venezuela and Brazil | 219 | ||
Conclusions | 222 | ||
10 | Left governments, economic constraints and policy choices | 225 | ||
International and domestic constraints | 225 | ||
Ideas, interests and policy choices | 228 | ||
Brazil: keeping the confidence of the markets and the support of the people | 232 | ||
The return of the repressed: national-popular politics and policies | 241 | ||
Conclusions | 247 | ||
Conclusions | 250 | ||
Notes | 256 | ||
Notes to chapter 1 | 256 | ||
Notes to chapter 2 | 256 | ||
Notes to chapter 3 | 257 | ||
Notes to chapter 4 | 258 | ||
Notes to chapter 5 | 258 | ||
Notes to chapter 6 | 259 | ||
Notes to chapter 7 | 260 | ||
Notes to chapter 8 | 262 | ||
Notes to chapter 9 | 264 | ||
Notes to chapter 10 | 265 | ||
Bibliography | 267 | ||
Index | 295 |