Right-wing Politics in the New Latin America | The Socjournal

Dr. Michael Sosteric | Oct 03, 2011 | Comments 0

‘Too often progressives demonise or just ignore the political right. This new collection redresses this deficit with a series of extremely well informed snapshots of the right in action across Latin America.

‘Right-Wing Politics in the New Latin America poses key questions regarding the Latin American right and goes a long way in answering them … This is a must read for those intent on understanding twenty-first century Latin American politics, even in those countries where the left currently has the upper hand.‘Steve Ellner, author of Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict and the Chávez Phenomenon

‘Too often progressives demonise or just ignore the political right. This new collection redresses this deficit with a series of extremely well informed snapshots of the right in action across Latin America. A must read for all interested in genuine democratisation’ Professor Ronaldo Munck, Head of Civic and Global Engagement, Dublin City University

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.

Based on a variety of original fieldwork and evidence, this volume addresses the current trajectories of rightwing politics in Latin America in the face of leftist governments, the discrediting of neoliberalism, and the decline of US hegemony. It includes chapters on US policy towards Latin America; the role of US-based think-tanks; the influence of transnational business and of the private media; as well as offering country-specific chapters on key states with rightwing governments and on opposition to left-of-centre governments in Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile.

A revealing and important book for anyone interested in contemporary Latin American politics.

Right Wing Politics in the New Latin America edited by Francisco Dominguez, Geraldine Lievesley and Steve Ludlam is published by Zed Books, priced £19.99/$34.95, ISBN 9781848138117. For more information or to request a review copy please contact Ruvani de Silva on 020 7837 8466 or [email protected].

Filed Under: Books • The Lightning Strike