Right-wing Politics in the New Latin America

by Dominguez, Francisco; Lievesley, Geraldine; Ludlam, Steve

• ISBN13: 9781848138117
• ISBN10: 1848138113
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-15
• Publisher: Zed Books

Summary

The focus for students of Latin America in the past decade has been on the political forces of the left and the so-called "pink tide" presidencies attempting to bring about social and economic change in the region. However, there has been far less attention paid to the rightwing political forces resisting such change. Such opposition is being orchestrated by political parties, business, the private media and other social and cultural institutions and is linked to the "soft power" of US diplomacy. In recent years its activities have often appeared to challenge the democratic process itself. This volume, from the editors of the acclaimed Reclaiming Latin America,addresses the current trajectories of rightwing politics in Latin America in the face of leftist governments and regional alliances, the discrediting of neoliberalism, and the decline of US hegemony. It includes overview chapters on historical context and rightwing typologies; US policy towards Latin America; the role of US-based think-tanks; the role of transnational business and of the private media, as well as offering country-specific chapters on key states with rightwing governments (Mexico, Colombia and Peru) and on opposition to left-of-center governments in Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile. It will also consider the recent political victories obtained by the Latin American right through the polls and by force in Chile, Panama and Honduras. A revealing and important book for anyone interested in contemporary Latin American politics.

Author Biography

Francisco Dominguez is Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies, Middlesex University. Geraldine Lievesley is Senior Lecturer in Politics at Manchester Metropolitan University. Steve Ludlam is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Sheffield.

Table of Contents

Introduction and overview * Introduction - Dominguez, Lievesley and Ludlam * At history's end? The Latin American right since 'the end of history' - Burton * External influences: the US and transnational capital 3. The US and the Latin American right -Livingstone * Unearthing the real subversives: the US state, rightwing think tanks, and political intervention in contemporary Latin Americ - Lievesley * Transnationals and rightwing politics in Latin Americ  - Higgingbottom *  Masters of the press: the media and the right in Latin America - Carmona * The right in office * Pan Para Todos: rightwing politics among the Mexican ruins - Dawson * Colombia as the lynchpin of US hegemony in Latin America - Raby * The Peruvian right: democracy, authority, and the limits of accommodatoni  - Durand * The right in opposition * Venezuela's opposition: desperately seeking to overthrow Chávez - Dominguez * Multilateral lines of conflict in contemporary Bolivia - Tsolakis * Rightwing opposition as counter – revolution: the Cuban case - Ludlam *  Rightwing politics in contemporary Brazil - Costa Lima * Undermining the 'New Dawn': opposition to Lugo in Paraguay - Lambert * Neoliberal resistance: the Kirchner government and the 'oligarchy from the Pampas - Vivares, Diaz Echenique and Ozollo * Democracy, neoliberalism and the Chilean right in the post – Pinochet era - Silva * Conclusions - Dominguez, Lievesley and Ludlam