THE LEFT IN BRAZIL 4/5/2010. What is the Left? Economic intervention Taxation Level of regulation...
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Transcript of THE LEFT IN BRAZIL 4/5/2010. What is the Left? Economic intervention Taxation Level of regulation...
THE LEFT IN BRAZIL
4/5/2010
What is “the Left”?
Economic intervention Taxation Level of regulation Ownership of
infrastructure State as creditor State as enterprise Price and production
controls
Social intervention Provision for social
goods Social welfare programs Provision of social
services Establishing social
justice
There is no single, agreed upon definition or measurement
The ability and willingness of the state to intervene in non-political spheres:
What is “the Left”?
Specific ideas and programs vary between countries
Two broad political agendas which the Left today tends to encompass: Socioeconomic reform: the redistribution of
the economic benefits of society in order to achieve a more equal outcome
Deepening democracy: offering opportunities to genuinely engage in the political life of the country to a wider range of its citizens
What is “the Left”?
How do we measure success? External evaluation
Macroeconomic indicators such as GDP Quality of democracy Human Development Index and the
Millennium Development Goals Internal evaluation:
Efficiency of state intervention progress towards achieving stated goals
Immediate impact of reforms v. sustainability
Has Latin America Turned Left?
1959: Cuba, Castro* 1990: Chile**, Concertación 1999: Venezuela*, Chávez 2003: Brazil*, Lula
Argentina*, Kirchner 2005: Uruguay*, Vázquez
* Reelected * Reversed
2006: Bolivia, MoralesPeru, GarcíaHonduras,
Zelaya** 2007: Nicaragua, Ortega
Ecuador, CorreaGuatemala, Colom
2008: Paraguay, Méndez 2009: El Salvador, Funes
Reelection of the left Majority support
Consistently increasing vote share since the early 1990s Preference for moderates
Turning Left
General Factors Democracies with high inequality tend towards
redistributive measures associated with leftist politics Anger over the failure of economic policies
associated with previous democratic regimes Younger citizens become a more important electoral
force. Younger citizens have only known democracy and so may
be more sensitive to its shortcomings Younger citizens did not live through the military
dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s and thus may be more tolerant of non-democratic leaders
The dirty wars destroyed radical leftist groups and raised popular fears of communism but did not address underlying causes (poverty and inequality). The left has thus reemerged with time and in new forms.
Turning Left: Brazil’s Path
The Workers’ Party (PT) forms in 1980 as the voice of “new unionism”
The PT does not participate in the behind-the-scenes dealing during the transition to democracy (1985)
The PT organizes and wins local political positions Internal democracy Participatory governing structures
Turning Left: Brazil’s Path
Success at the local level builds and the PT gains more and higher political positions
The election of Lula to the presidency in 2002 Issues of scale: broadening of the number
of groups that form the party base Issues of scope: broadening of the number
of issues the base expects the PT to deal with competently
Turning Left: Brazil’s Path
Attempts to deliver social change without alienating either the public or the market Market instability surrounding Lula’s election
pressured his commitment to continuing previous macroeconomic policies and respecting IMF agreements Reduced pensions (apx. 30%), wages (apx. 12%),
and social programs (apx. 10%) – initially Since Lula took power, Brazil's social spending
increased to 17 billion reals ($8 billion) in 2005 from 6 billion reals in 2002
4.25% of GDP (approx. 50 billion USD) set aside to meet foreign debt payments
Lula repaid Brazil’s IMF loans early – in 2005
Turning Left: Brazil’s Path
Bolsa Familia Direct cash transfer program, R$15-$95 (US$7-$45)
per month 94% of the funds reach the poorest 40% of the
population Most of the money is used to buy food, school
supplies, and children’s clothes Inexpensive and has a real impact on the lived
experience of its 46 million recipients Poverty fell 27% during Lula’s first term in office Income inequality fell by 4.6% from 1995 and 2004
Does not address the root causes of poverty and may increase dependence on the state