The impasse of the Latin American Left /

The political pendulum continues swinging across Latin America as Leftist governments return to power in 2022. This second Pink Tide recently emerged after a brief stint of right-wing governments in the 2010s followed the first Pink Tide. In three substantive chapters, the authors clearly and concisely unlock the rise of the first Pink Tide, detailing the complexities behind Leftist governments that institutionalized the "plebian upsurge of popular rebellions" (p. 5) against neoliberal capitalism at the turn of the century, before succumbing to political opposition, internal problems, and economic decline in the 2010s. Chapter 1 details the different Leftist political projects--liberal, Populist, socialist. Chapter 2 evaluates how Leftist governments challenged neoliberalism while simultaneously exploiting the commodities trade to achieve enviable economic growth. Chapter 3 wades through intellectual debates across the Left on the role of a strong state, Populism, autonomous movements, and anti-imperialism. The authors conclude that although political structures and rhetoric were firmly Leftist and confronted neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus to greater or lesser extents, no Leftist government challenged the logic of extractive economies, significantly altered property relations, or changed to any measurable degree the class structures of their societies. Will the latest Pink Tide follow suit? Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. --Kirwin Ray Shaffer, Penn State University--Berks College