The South American right after ‘the end of history’
RIGHT-WING POLITICS IN THE NEW LATIN AMERICA (ZED BOOKS)
The outlook for the Right in South America in the early 1990s was optimistic. The Sandinistas’ 1990 election defeat left Cuba the last socialist country in the hemisphere. Democracy was in vogue following end of military rule and more competitive elections. The region appeared to be on the economic road to recovery, following a traumatic decade of structural adjustment. In this moment Fukuyama (1992) presented his ‘end of history’ thesis: societies were now entering a period in which democracy and the market would become the dominant form of political and economic organisation.
Nearly two decades later, the ‘end of history’ claim in relation to South America sounds hollow. Since the mid-2000s it has become almost commonplace to talk of a leftward shift across the region, from Brazil and Chile to Venezuela and Bolivia. Indeed, it has captured much scholarly and media attention (see Castañeda 2006; Castañeda and Morales 2008; Barrett et al 2008; Panizza 2005; Ellner 2004; Harnecker 2005; Petras 2005). By contrast the literature which has made its focus on the Right in the region has been relatively sparse (see Chalmers et al 1992; Middlebrook 2000a, 200b). Furthermore, such material has largely focused on the Right during the 1980s and 1990s and not on the period since 2000.
The impression of the Right in South America is one of ‘winners’ the 1990s and ‘losers’ in the 2000s. But to what extent is that an accurate picture? If the Left did indeed become the main political actor to watch in the current decade, how has the Right reacted and responded to such developments, if at all? Such questions are deeply important, given scholarly observation that the inclusion of conservative forces (whether as political parties or social groups) is vital if democracy is to be sustained (Gibson 1992; Middlebrook 2000a, 2000b). To address these questions this chapter addresses the following: the first section provides a definition for the South American Right; the second considers the role of the Right in the political and economic changes of the 1980s and 1990s; and the third examines its approach during the leftward shift of the 2000s.
