The New Latin America. Manuel Castells

The New Latin America - Manuel  Castells


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an increase in monetary transfers from governments to these sectors. This tendency has, however, begun to be reversed during the last few years. Figure 1.1 shows the evolution and slow decrease in inequality in selected Latin American countries between 2002 and 2016.

      We suggest that these phenomena, particularly the decrease in poverty, were caused in large part by the greater presence of the state as a central player in processes of development, with a strategic orientation, a willingness to invest public funds in infrastructure, education, and healthcare, and a commitment to redistributive policies like the program known as Bolsa Família in Brazil.1 In fact, the neoliberal model of unrestricted national participation in globalization, a model generated by the market, collapsed both economically and socially around the beginning of the twenty-first century in most Latin American countries. (The bank freeze in 2001 in Argentina is the clearest symbol of this collapse.) A new model then emerged, a model that proclaimed itself neo-developmentalist, and that was centered on the state but oriented toward competition in the global market. This model is apparently very similar to the model of development that prevailed in East Asia from 1960 to 1980, the period of East Asia’s “economic takeoff.”

      Figure 1.1: Gini Coefficient of Inequality: Selected Latin American Countries, 2002–2016

      In terms of the factors that the HDI takes into account (education, health, and incomes), Chile has the highest rates of income measured as a factor of HDI (0.812 in 2015), followed by Argentina and Uruguay (0.807 and 0.794, respectively, in 2015). Argentina leads the region in rates of education measured as a factor of HDI (0.808 in 2015), while Chile and Uruguay occupy second and third place in the region. Finally, in rates of health measured as a factor of HDI, Chile is in first place, followed by Costa Rica and Uruguay, with Argentina in fifth place, after Mexico, in 2015.

      The transformation in approaches to development, from neoliberalism to neo-developmentalism, was caused in large part by the resistance mounted by vast swathes of the population against the exclusionary policies that sought to force Latin America to incorporate itself into the global economy, policies that benefitted old and new elites. Another key factor leading to the emergence of a new set of policies and politics was the demand for the recognition of oppressed cultural identities. This demand was made especially in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, but members of other ethnic groups also sought recognition in Chile, Mexico, and Colombia. A combination of social movements opposing exclusion and identitarian movements opposing institutionalized racism led to the emergence of a new constellation of political actors, including Bolivarian regimes (in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Nicaragua), nationalist and indigenous regimes (in Bolivia), neo-Peronism or Kirchnerism (in Argentina), and progressive governments like those of the Partido dos Trabalhadores or PT (in Brazil) and the Frente Amplio (in Uruguay). A process of widespread social change accompanied these political transformations, leading to the affirmation of human rights, the growth of feminist movements and improvements in living conditions for women, and increased multicultural awareness in society and politics. Moreover, the emergence of new political actors opposing the United States’ control of the region led to a new geopolitical role for Latin America in the world. The region has diversified its economic and political relationships with countries including China, Japan, South Africa, and, to a lesser extent, Russia, while also encouraging closer ties with the countries of the European Union. Nevertheless, the presence of the United States remains significant, especially in Mexico, Central America, and Colombia.

      Source: Authors’ own calculations, based on the Human Development Report, 2016 (UNDP, 2016)

      According to a study undertaken by the United Nations Development Programme (2004), there were increases throughout the region in economic reforms implemented between 1981 and 1990 and again between 1988 and 2003, accompanied by an increase in rates of electoral democracy. Nevertheless, these increases did not translate into significant reductions in rates of poverty, indigence, inequality, or unemployment. The average rate of poverty fell from 46 percent in the period between 1981 and 1990 to 41.3 percent in the period between 1998 and 2003. And, in fact, in the Southern Cone (the sub-region with the highest rate of economic reforms), unemployment actually increased by three percentage points during this time. Rates of poverty and indigence also increased in this period, from 25.6 percent to 26 percent and from 7.1 percent to 8.7 percent, respectively.

      We can identify an unfortunate lack of change in the rate of participation of the region’s GDP in global GDP. According to the World Bank, since the 1980s, this has remained around 8 percent. By contrast, China’s relative participation in global GDP went from 2 percent to 11 percent between the 1980s and the second decade of the twenty-first century (World Bank, 2018).


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