The Contradictions and Transformations of Neoliberalism in Latin America: From Structural Adjustment to “Empowering the Poor”

Abstract

The editors of this volume have posed the challenging question of whether Latin America is moving into a “post-neoliberal” era. Without doubt, the rise of populist socialism in Venezuela and Bolivia, the uncertain politics of post-crisis Argentina, and the continentwide rise of anti-neoliberal social movements have thrown a stern rebuttal to the oft-repeated adage “there is no alternative” (Veltmeyer 2007). Simultaneously, during the 1990s and beyond, numerous changes were noted in the discourse and policy prescriptions associated with neoliberalism in countries as diverse as Brazil and Honduras. Although not formalized in the World Bank until the late 1990s, the contours of neoliberalism in Latin America have been consistently yet unevenly shifting in response to prolonged socioeconomic dislocation since the mid-1980s. Mexican President Carlos Salinas, for example, preempted much of the rhetoric of contemporary neoliberalism when introducing his program of “social liberalism” or “neoliberalism with a human face” in the late 1980s (Soederberg 2002). Moreover, the evolution of neoliberalism gathered pace in the continent under the mantle of “second generation reforms” that looked to build more efficient institutions for a market society, coupled with a new social agenda that would transcend the notion of “safety nets for the poor” (Ffrench-Davis 2000; Pastor and Wise 1999).