Revisiting “Post-Neoliberalism” in Latin America’s Pink Tide: Brazil and Venezuela Compared

Year 2025, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 27 - 45, 16.11.2025

Atakan Çiftçi

Abstract

This article critically reassesses the "post-neoliberal" nature of Latin America's Pink Tide through a comparative analysis of Brazil and Venezuela. Emerging in the 2000s with anti-neoliberal rhetoric, these governments initially pursued redistributive policies, seemingly diverging from their predecessors’ neoliberal agendas. However, following the 2008 global financial crisis, the sustainability of these welfare-oriented programs was compromised, prompting the introduction of austerity measures. These policy shifts resulted in widespread public discontent, manifesting through electoral defeats and large-scale protests beginning around 2015, often characterized as a "right turn" or a "return to neoliberalism.” By comparatively analyzing Brazil and Venezuela, often seen as representing the moderate and radical poles of the Pink Tide, this article challenges the notion of a coherent and lasting "post-neoliberal" phase. It argues that the Pink Tide’s redistributive initiatives were fundamentally dependent upon a favorable economic environment marked by surging commodity prices and abundant international liquidity. Consequently, the end of this favorable global economic context, rather than an external ideological shift, triggered policy reversals and austerity measures. Ultimately, the study contends that the alleged "right turn" in Latin America began not after the Pink Tide, but within it.

Keywords

Pink Tide , post-neoliberalism , Latin America , Brazil , Venezuela

Latin Amerika'nın Pembe Dalga Sürecinde "Post-Neoliberalizm"in Yeniden Değerlendirilmesi: Brezilya ve Venezuela Karşılaştırması

Abstract

Bu makale, Latin Amerika’daki Pembe Dalga’nın “post-neoliberal” niteliğini Brezilya ve Venezuela’nın karşılaştırmalı analizi üzerinden eleştirel bir şekilde yeniden değerlendirmektedir. 2000’lerde anti-neoliberal bir söylemle ortaya çıkan bu hükümetler, başlangıçta seleflerinin neoliberal gündemlerinden ayrışan yeniden dağıtımcı politikalar izlediler. Ancak, 2008 küresel finansal krizinin ardından bu refah odaklı programların sürdürülebilirliği zayıfladı ve yerine kemer sıkma önlemleri getirildi. Bu politika değişimleri, 2015 civarında başlayan seçim yenilgileri ve geniş çaplı protestolarla kendini gösteren, yaygın halk hoşnutsuzluğuna yol açtı ve sıklıkla “sağa kayış” veya “neoliberalizme dönüş” olarak tanımlandı. Bu makale, Pembe Dalga’nın genellikle ılımlı ve radikal uçlarını temsil ettiği düşünülen Brezilya ve Venezuela vakalarını karşılaştırarak, tutarlı ve süreğen bir “post-neoliberal” dönemin varlığına dair görüşü sorgulamaktadır. Makale, Pembe Dalga’nın yeniden dağıtımcı girişimlerinin esasen yükselen emtia fiyatları ve bollaşan uluslararası likidite ile belirlenen elverişli bir ekonomik ortama bağımlı olduğunu öne sürmektedir. Dolayısıyla, bu elverişli küresel ekonomik koşulların sona ermesi, dışsal bir ideolojik değişimden ziyade, politik değişimleri ve kemer sıkma önlemlerini tetiklemiştir. Sonuç olarak çalışma, Latin Amerika’daki iddia edilen “sağa kayış”ın Pembe Dalga’nın sona ermesinin ardından değil, onun içerisinde başladığını ileri sürmektedir.

Keywords

Pink Tide , post-neoliberalism , Latin America , Brazil , Venezuela

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