Latin America: Perspectives for Socialism in a Time of a World Capitalist Recession/Depression

摘要

The paper examines the perspectives for socialism in Latin America in the context of the deepening world capitalist recession. Several specific world-historical changes in the development of capitalism mark out the uniqueness of capitalism and their impact on the US and Latin American class structure. US-Latin American relations have passed through several distinct phases over the past two decades: 1990-1999 The era of imperial pillage; 2000-2003 A moment of mass popular revolts; 2004-2007 The rise of relatively autonomous center left regimes and the primary commodity boom; 2008-present The world recession/depression and the crisis of the center-left regimes. Our analysis refutes the arguments of the 'decoupling' of Latin America's center-left regimes and demonstrates their dependence, links and vulnerability to Euro-American economic recession. The crisis of the Latin American center-left is linked to their continuation of the neo-liberal policies, exacerbated by their embrace of primary commodities export policies during the boom and their failure to change property or class relations. The economic crisis and social consequences has created massive disenchantment with liberalism and capitalism, and provides the most promising objective economic condition for a revival of socialist alternatives. However, the subjective, or social-political forces capable of raising the issue of the socialist alternative are presently divided, fragmented and lacking in a strategy for taking state power.