América Latina e a onda progressista: réquiem para um sonho

Abstract

This work reviews the book “Uma historia da onda progressista sul-americana (1998-2016)”, by Fabio Luis Barbosa dos Santos. As a result of field research in eleven countries, the book presents a well-informed analysis of the achievements and limits of the Pink Tide, explaining the particularities of each national situation and identifying their common historical movement. The Pink Tide phenomenon is understood in its heterogeneity, not as a set of governments, but as a historical moment. By explaining its national dilemmas, the author was able to draw a picture of their regional correlations and shared determinations. The specific tensions of each government are analyzed from their class alliances, supports and fractures with social movements and oligarchies, as well as the nuances of different integration strategies. By questioning the extractivist consensus, the author proposes a historical-structural understanding of the impasses of the Latin American conjuncture, reassessing dependence and inequality as the fortresses that block the horizons of change.