Left Wing Flashcards
When was the left turn considered to have started
With the election of Chavez in 1998
What is the wrong left turn
Focus on populism, strong nationalism and is closed minded and anti-American
Semi authoritarian anti communists
Did things for the poor but created corporate structures that still plague the political system
Nationalised large industries eg oil Venezuela
What is the right left
Modern, reformist internationalist and open minded
Learned from the mistakes of the past
Rose partially from former communist parties
Emphasises social policy but with a more orthodox market framework
What are reasons behind the left turn
Fall of the Soviet Union - no longer had to choose between Soviet Union and US - also reduced geopolitics stigma
Inequality, poverty and concentration of power meant it had to be a left wing party to gain support and votes
Economic and social reforms in the 80s under right wing governments did not live up to their promises
Except existing left Chile low economic growth behind other developing nations eg China
Left wing focus on social improvements and distribution of wealth gained support
Would have happened sooner or later due to the regions demographics
When did Brazil’s left turn begin
Election of silva from the workers party (PT)
What did the fome zero policy do
Aimed to end hunger
Created water cisterns in semi arid areas
Education on healthy eating and the distribution of supplements
Access to microcredit
Biggest Brazilian initiative to combat hunger
Institute for geography and statistics- has reduced poverty
Bolts escola has impacted school attendance and child labour
What is bolsa familia
Social welfare programme to provide aid to poor families
Described as an “anti poverty scheme invented in Latin America which is winning converts worldwide”
Reduction of short term poverty through cash transfers and and long term poverty by reducing human capitol through conditional cash transfers
What did the bolsa familia do
Ensures children are vaccinated and attend school - dropped from programme if they exceed absences allowed
works to give free education if kids can’t afford to attend school
Gives families in poverty a monthly stipend through a citizens card to reduce corruption
Who is helped by bolsa familia
Largest conditional cash transfer in the world
12 million families received funds
By 2011 26% of families were covered by the programme
Research by the world bank showed there was a significant reduction in child labour exploitation amongst families benefiting from the programme
Responsible for 20% drop in poverty
Why did the Catholic Church oppose giving money to the poor in bolsa familia
Money may be spent poorly
Used to buy votes
Reduces employment incentive - chose to live off bolsa familia and not work
World bank found it does not discourage work - may cause them to work harder or take more risks as they have a safety net
What is an example of how the Venezuela left turn was semi authoritarian
Removal of term limit in 2009 - achieved through referendum
Presidents can now continue to run for re-election indefinitely
What was the bolivarian mission
Combination of over 30 welfare policies regarding; social justice, social welfare, poverty reduction, education and military recruitment
Funded through oil revenue
Seemed to increase Venezuela’s food sovereignty with mixed results
Policies continued by Madura but mostly stopped now
What does the bolivarian mission do
Volunteers teach reading writing and arithmetic to adults geography, grammar and foreign language taught to dropouts
Free higher education course for adults
Cheap access to high quality produce, grain, dairy and meat
Aimed to provide comprehensive health and veterinary care
Built houses for the poor - goal 150000 in 2006
Created a civilian military reserve
Who was helped through the bolivarian mission
600000 dropouts attended night classes
In 2006 11 million were benefiting from cheap food
Between 2004 and 2005 150 million consultations occurred due to the programme
2006 - first half - 35000 houses built -24% of goal
Who spoke about a right and wrong left
Castaneda
What were the implications of the left turn on the FTAA
Rejection of neoliberal free trade projects
- mar del plata summit 2005 -anti globalisation protests
Morales - FTAA an agreement to colonise the America’s
Opposition from mercosur members
- Chavez - annexation plan and tool of imperialism
- organisation disagrees with us over agriculture subsidies
What is the FTAA
Free trade area of the America’s
What were the implications of the left turn on mercosur
Different left = different views of mercosur
- Brazil - committed to regionalism and revitalising mercosur - united global Latin American voice
- Argentina - post crisis search for renewed nature of mercosur, departing from neoliberal conceptions of integration
Bolivia - nationalists left turn
- nationalisation of oil sector hurtful to Brazilian interests
- sovereignty a pillar of morales national development plan-cooperation must not undermine self determination
Absence of consensus challenges united regional integration
What is Mercosur
Called southern trade market
South American trade bloc
What were the implications of the left turn on UNASUR
Focus on political identity-top-level forum rather than integration project
- no ambition of economic integration
- recognition of primacy of state in economic affairs
Rights based policies and commitment to address poverty/inequality
- eg creation of SA institute of health governance
- address social struggles that emerged with neoliberal reform
What is UNASUR
Union of South American countries
Similar to eu
What was the global economic dimension of the left turn
Idea of hemisphere integration relied upon competitive liberalism
- countries pursuing the ‘right’ (neoliberal) policies would be rewarded with trade agreements
- strategy ultimately failed
What was the global security dimension of the left turn
Failure of neoliberalism+left turn+was on terror = Washington believed region unstable again and reasserted to one of its strongest Cold War policies - is presence in the hemisphere
War on drugs and terror were used to justify increased militarisation in the region, but the primary motive = repress resistance to neoliberalism
What was the global political dimension of the left turn
1998-2013- 17 newly-elected left-leaning presidents helped to orchestrate a movement against the Washington consensus and loosen the grip of the US on the region
2007-first real comprehensive strategy to promote democracy and economic growth in Latin America was issued
-Venezuela-remove Chavez-had growing influence and helped the bolivarian revolution
Brazil-undermine lulu 2002 campaign by questioning governing ability -ironic -lulu’s moderation benefited them
Bolivia-morales failure -socialist model could not be seen as successful
What is the Washington consensus
A set of economic policy recommendations for developing countries
Is a level of agreement between IMF, the world bank and US treasury department regarding these recommendations
Explain the bolsa familia monthly stipend
Families with a monthly income of under $140 BRL a monthly receive $32 BRL per vaccinated child (5-16) in school (up to 5) and $38 BRL per youth (16-17) in school
If below extreme poverty ($70 BRL)a basic benefit of $70 BRL given
What is the bolsa familia stipend spent on
Most spent on, in order, food, school supplies, clothes and shoes
87% spent on food
