Neoliberal Hegemony and the Pink Tide in Latin America

Abstract

Chodor examines the struggles against neoliberal hegemony in Latin America, under the 'Pink Tide' of leftist governments. Utilizing a critical International Political Economy framework derived from the work of Antonio Gramsci, he looks at its two most prominent members – Venezuela under Hugo Chávez and Brazil under Lula and Dilma Rousseff. The author argues that Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution represents a counter-hegemonic project that seeks to construct a radical alternative to neoliberalism, while the Brazilian project is better understood as a passive revolution aiming to re-secure consent for neoliberal hegemony by making material and ideological concession to the Brazilian masses. Despite their differences, the two projects cooperate at the regional level, driving the process of regional integration that aims to make Latin America more politically, economically and ideologically autonomous in the neoliberal world order. The book suggests this process opens up opportunities for a fairer, more prosperous and more democratic Latin America in the 21st century, challenging American hegemony and its neoliberal project in doing so.