About a decade ago a lot of latin america moved towards the left politically beacuse of unhappiness with neoliberal economics.
With the rise of people like Sanders in the US, I’m wondering if there were any lasting positive impacts of the pink tide in latin America.
Venezuela is a basket case now and the public want out, but the democracy has been undermined. Morales moved towards authoritarianism but was limited. Corruption in Brazil helped usher in a right wing populist.
According to wikipedia there were some anti poverty efforts and efforts to protect minorities. So there is that
The pink tide governments aimed to improve the welfare of the constituencies that brought them to power, which they attempted through measures intended to increase wages, such as raising minimum wages, and softening the effects of neoliberal economic policies through expanding welfare spending, such as subsidizing basic services and providing cash transfers to vulnerable groups like the unemployed, mothers outside of formal employment, and the precariat. In Venezuela, the first pink tide gove Bef...
Morales government was praised internationally for its reduction of poverty, economic growth[52] and the improvement of indigenous, women[53] and LGBTI rights[54] in the very traditionally-minded Bolivian society.
Before Lula’s election, Brazil suffered from one of the highest rates of poverty in the Americas, with the infamous favelas known internationally for its levels of extreme poverty, malnutrition and health problems. Extreme poverty was also a problem in rural areas. During Lula’s presidency several social programs like Zero Hunger (Fome Zero) were praised internationally for reducing hunger in Brazil,[55] poverty and inequality while also improving the health and education of the population.[55][56] Around 29 million people became middle class during Lula’s eight years tenure.[56] During Lula’s government, Brazil became an economic power and member of BRICS.[55][56] Lula ended his tenure with 80% approval ratings.[57]
Economist from the University of Illinois[58] Rafael Correa was elected as President of Ecuador in the 2006 presidential election following the harsh economic crisis and social turmoil that caused right-wing Lucio Gutiérrez resignation as President. Correa, a practicing Catholic influenced by liberation theology,[58] was pragmatic in his economical approach in a similar manner to Morales in Bolivia[33] and Ecuador soon experienced a non-precedent economic growth that bolstered Correa’s popularity to the point that he was the most popular president of the Americas’ for several years in a row,[58] with an approval rate between 60 and 85%.[59]
Lugo’s government was praised for its social reforms, including investments in low-income housing,[60] the introduction of free treatment in public hospitals,[61][62] the introduction of cash transfers for Paraguay’s most impoverished citizens[63] and indigenous rights.[64]
Some of the initial results after the first pink tide governments were elected in Latin America included a reduction in the income gap,[5] unemployment, extreme poverty,[5] malnutrition and hunger[2][65] and rapid increase in literacy.[2] The decrease in these indicators during the same period of time happened faster than in non-Pink Tide governments.[66]
Countries like Ecuador,[67][68] El Salvador, Nicaragua[69] and Costa Rica[70] experienced notable economic growth during this period whilst Bolivia and El Salvador both saw a notable reduction in poverty according to the World Bank.[71][72][improper synthesis?]
Economic hardships occurred in countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela as oil and commodity prices declined and according to analysts because of their unsustainable policies.[40][41][73] In regard to the economic situation, President of Inter-American Dialogue Michael Shifter stated: “The United States–Cuban Thaw occurred with Cuba reapproaching the United States when Cuba’s main international partner, Venezuela, began experiencing economic hardships”.[74][75]