Latin America: The Aborted Neo-Liberal Offensive

[Judi Lynn]

Latin America: The Aborted Neo-Liberal Offensive
By James Petras
Thursday, Dec 10, 2015

Introduction

Pundits and commentators on the Left and Right are pronouncing ‘the end of the progressive cycle in Latin America’. They cite the recent presidential elections:

1.Argentina, where hard-right Mauricio Macri was elected;

2.Brazil, where President Dilma Rousseff has appointed a neo-liberal ‘Chicago Boy’ economist, Joaquin Levy, as Finance Minister and launched an IMF-style regressive structural adjustment policy designed to reduce social expenditures and attract financial speculators; and

3.Venezuela, where Washington channeled millions of dollars to far-right parties, as well as violent extra-parliamentary and paramilitary groups, to destabilize the center-left Maduro government; right-wing Democratic Unity Coalition (MUD) won the legislative elections in December 2015 with more than 2:1 margin over the Chavista Venezuelan United Socialist Party (PSUV).
No doubt progressive social legislation has come to a virtual halt, even before the recent political advances of the US-backed right-wing parties with their neo-liberal economic agenda.

But paralysis, and even retreat and electoral defeats of the center-left regimes, do not mean the return to the neo-liberal 1990’s, a period of privatizations, pillage and plunder, which had plunged millions into poverty, unemployment and marginality.

Whatever the current voting results, the collective memory of mass hardship, resulting from ‘free market’ policies, is seared in the memory of the vast majority of the working population.

Any attempt by the newly elected officials to ‘unmake and reverse’ the social advances of the past decade will be met with (1) militant resistance, if not open class warfare; (2) institutional and political constraints; (3) and low commodity prices drastically limiting export revenues.

A careful analysis of the policies proposed by the neo-liberal right, their implementation and impact will demonstrate their likely failure and the rapid demise of any new right-wing offensive. This will abort the neoliberal cycle.

More:
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_72453.shtml

[COLGATE4]

1. Still in the 'Denial' stage of Grief. nt

[Marksman_91]

2. It's funny how Chavistas from all walks of life are going crazy over this loss

Just go to Aporrea.org. That thing is a MADHOUSE right now. Some of them are calling for both Maduro and Cabello to resign, others saying that the entire PSUV leadership should step down, and then the more delusional ones think that the opposition bought off the voters or some BS like that, and believe in the whole "economic war" bollocks. It's actually kind of entertaining! They just can't decide on whom to blame!

Also, this next part is interesting: http://www.maduradas.com/urgente-giordani-y-navarro-daban-declaraciones-explosivas-contra-maduro-y-llegan-colectivos/
So Jorge Giordani and Hector Navarro were two very prominent ministers during Chavez's years, and ever since they got kicked out of the government by the Nincompoop-in-Charge, they've been nothing but critical and merciless about attacking Maduro and his leadership. And then yesterday it so happened that they were having a little press conference where they were again criticizing Maduro's gesture and how that drove to the colossal defeat they suffered on Dec. 6th, and they were calling for a total sweep of the central government in order to save Chavismo. But then they were interrupted by a colectivo and effectively brought that little press conference to (some say they were ordered to go there by Jorge Rodriguez, another prominent chavista bighead and current mayor of the Libertador district of Caracas (where the PSUV also lost this last election, I should add.)

Here's another article with video included where the founder of Aporrea talks back at the colectivo thugs:
http://elperiodicovenezolano.com/abriendo-los-ojos-fundador-de-aporrea-enfrento-a-los-colectivos-video/

It certainly seems like Chavismo itself is now effectively splitting in two:

- Those in the top of the PSUV leadership who wish to only keep close friends and family in the government and keep enriching themselves while doing shit (Maduro and Cabello, for example.)
- Those who truly believe in Chavez's project and think that the current PSUV leadership is trampling all over it and think a whole new administration should take over and don't believe the bullshit that the country's problems are anyone but the central government's responsibility (most of the Aporrea.org people, Giordani, Navarro, et al.)

Looks like Madurismo is starting to be it's own thing now separately from Chavismo. And that is only gonna make it easier for the opposition to remove both tendencies from power. We'll see.

[COLGATE4]

3. When push comes to shove the opportunists who have been

riding the Chavez-Maduro gravy train will do just about anything to keep doing it. Just before the elections Maduro was naive enough to approach the head of the Army to ask for its support in openly defying the results if they were disfavorable to Chavismo. Fortunately the Army took a democratic posture and refused. So now Maduro and gang are planning on taking an obstructionist posture, hoping to keep their sorry behinds in power. All the breast-beating about love of Patria is just as cynical coming from them as it is from Dick Cheney. It will be interesting to see how the pro-democracy Chavistas deal with the entrenched 'leaders' now that the people have clearly shown their rejection of their failed policies.