(Post)neoliberalism

Grugel, Jean and Riggirozzi, Pía (2025) (Post)neoliberalism. In, Halvorsen, Sam (ed.) Latin American Geographies. 1 ed. Routledge, pp. 103-114. (doi:10.4324/9781003430926-13).

Abstract

Neoliberalism is the view that public provision is best delivered through markets. It gained traction in Latin America in the 1980s, leveraged by international organisations and local economic and political elites in the context of weak democracies. Neoliberal policies in the region institutionalised a limited role for the state, accentuated private property rights and extended the commodification of the commons, accentuating inequalities of class, ethnicity, gender and place. The left in Latin America in the early years of this century attempted to renegotiate the state-market relationship, ‘re-nationalise’ large sections of the economy and extend programmes of welfare-based citizenship, in the context of a commodities boom. How successful was postneoliberal governance? Drawing on examples from across Central and South America, this chapter considers the extent to which it disrupted marketized models of development. Despite some successes in reasserting the value of a mixed economy and a (sometimes temporary) reduction in socio-economic inequalities, the voices and views of critical social movements and communities were often excluded from policy-making. Moreover, the record of all postneoliberal governments in relation to the management of the region’s rich natural resources was poor.

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Contributors

Author: Pía Riggirozzi

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