Twenty-First Century Socialism? The Elusive Search for a Post-Neoliberal Development Model in Bolivia and Ecuador

Abstract

The recent political, economic and social histories of Bolivia and Ecuador point to a broader, post-neoliberal trend emerging in Latin America. Presidents Evo Morales and Rafael Correa have closely followed the basic model of twenty-first-century socialism as an alternative to free market capitalism. In theory, both leaders have successfully re-founded their countries with new constitutions that encompass the interests of all sectors of society. In practice, however, we argue that a volatile economic climate, poorly implemented reforms, increased opposition, and low political tolerance all indicate limitations to the viability of twenty-first-century socialism as a post-neoliberal development model.

Resource Sovereignties inBolivia: Re‐Conceptualising the Relationship between Indigenous Identities and the Environment during theTIPNISConflict

“…In Latin America, a post‐neoliberal trend has emerged that could be said to constitute ‘21st century socialism’ (Kennemore and Weeks, : 267). Nonetheless, for Bolivians this shift has not resulted in significant movement away from an economic model based on the exploitation of natural resources.…”

Empowerment through articulations between post-neoliberal politics and neoliberalism: value chain alliances in Bolivia

“…Many left-wing critics of the MAS government and other progressive governments in Latin America have claimed that there is no real intention to "decolonise development" or to generate radical social transformation. They argue that these governments only seek to reform the neoliberal project (Webber 2011;Kennemore and Weeks 2011;Novo 2014). Our research on the case of the PAR programme in Bolivia indeed shows that the MAS government has not been able to make a definitive break from neoliberalism and its governance strategies, like similar post-neoliberal projects on the continent (Radcliffe 2012; Farthing and Kohl 2014).…”

Sustainable development or sacrifice zone? Politics below the surface in post-neoliberal Ecuador

“…Debates around Ecuadorian postneoliberalism have often pivoted around whether or not boosting extraction can be justified if it leads to public spending in the sectors that need it most, such as health and education (e.g. Grugel and Riggirozzi, 2009;MacDonald and Ruckert, 2009;Bebbington and Humphreys Bebbington, 2011;Kennemore and Weeks, 2011). Yet, there is a longstanding consensus in the social sciences that extractive rents are associated with rising inequality and weakened democratic institutions, particularly in countries such as Ecuador which have neither reliable institutions and fiscal frameworks for managing extractive rents, nor well developed non-resource based sectors (e.g.…”