After Neoliberalism?: The Left and Economic Reforms in Latin America

by Gustavo A. Flores-Macias

Overview

The political trajectory of Latin America in the last decade has been remarkable. The left, which had been given up for dead across the region, swept into power in numerous countries: Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and even Chile. Moreover, the Mexican left, which lost an extremely close (and disputed) election a couple of years ago, may yet come to power in 2012. Once these left governments took the reins of power, though, they acted very differently. Some have been truly radical, while others have been moderate. Gusatvo Flores-Macias' After Neoliberalism? offers the first systemic explanation of why left-wing governments across the region have acted in the way that they have. His theory hinges on party systems. Deeply institutionalized, stable party systems have forestalled radical change regardless of the governing party's philosophy, but states with weakly institutionalized party systems have opened the door for more radical reform. Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez, then, are not simply more radical than Lula and Chile's Michele Bachelet (who left office in March 2010). Rather, weak party systems allowed them to adopt more radical policies. Flores-Macias is careful to add that weak party systems also allow for rightwing radicals to enact policies more easily, but at this historical conjuncture, the left has the upper hand. Utilizing a rich base of empirical evidence drawn from eleven countries, After Neoliberalism? will reshape our understanding of not simply why the left has had such a far-reaching triumph, but how it actually governs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199891672
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/19/2012
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Assistant Professor of Government, Cornell University

Table of Contents

List of Tables
List of Figures
I Introduction: The Left and the Challenge to Market Orthodoxy in Latin America
II Economic Reforms: The Dependent Variable
III Party Systems and Leftist Governments' Economic Policies
IV Party System in Disarray: Venezuela's Statist Revisionism
V Progressively Institutionalized Party System: Brazil's Moderate Reforms
VI Highly Institutionalized Party System: Chile's Pro-market Continuity
VII Conclusion
VIII References

Appendix A: Leftist Victories in Presidential Elections in Latin America
Appendix B: Sources and Data for Hypotheses Testing in Chapter 3

Editorial Reviews

"The idea that strong institutions encourage moderate policymaking has been made before but this book develops a sophisticated, tightly-argued version of it and applies it in a disciplined way to an important and timely empirical puzzle. The author uses data and graphics effectively and includes a wealth of information on Latin American economic policies since the transition away from import-substitution industrialization in the 1980s. The transitition away from the import-substitution industrialization in the 1980s. The breadth of the analysis and the clarity of the exposition make it a good choice for upper-level undergraduate classes, as well as graduate seminars." — American Review of Politics

From the Publisher