The lesson of the Russian NEP is that economic liberalization does not necessarily signify the democratization of a country, and that it may be accompanied by the elimination of democracy.
Place: Latin America
U.S. Politics and the Financing of Political Groups in Cuba
Sam Farber contributes to the ongoing debates among Cuban critics, dissidents and oppositionists about U.S. financing of Cuban political groups.
Open Letter to Editors of Jacobin and Monthly Review
Scholars and activists respond to the spirited attacks by Jacobin and Monthly Review on Yaku Pérez, the indigenous candidate in Ecuador’s presidential election.
Latin America in the Time of COVID
Gonzalez examines the development of Latin American political economy and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Western Imperialism and the Role of Sub-imperialism in the Global South
An examination of the significance of BRICS countries as “sub-imperial” powers in the context of global capitalism and imperialism.
Bolivia’s Elections
The Return of Democracy and an Uncertain Future
Bolivia has given the world an impressive lesson in democracy, but reactionary sectors of the country are once again revealing their anti-democratic impulse.
In Puerto Rico, the 2019 Uprising Produces an Electoral Opening Toward the Left
As the eyes of the world were fixated on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, the U.S. colony of Puerto Rico produced a more satisfying and historic outcome for the left after its local election on Nov. 3, 2020.
Venezuela
How did Chavismo win 92% of the National Assembly?
The high abstention indicates that the working majority understood the irrelevance of the election. Voting could not have any impact on the disastrous national situation because the parliament had been de facto deprived of all its functions for several years.
Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution
“With this year’s worldwide renewal of the Black Lives Matter protests, readers could hardly ask for a better time to revisit the Haitian Revolution.” Review of Sudhir Hazareesingh, Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture.
Left Advances in Brazil Bring Repression and Dirty Tricks
The movement to defeat Brazil’s right-wing authoritarian President Jair Bolsonaro made significant advances in the first round of local elections on Sunday, November 15, 2020.
Counter-historical Revolutionary: Dan La Botz’s “Trotsky in Tijuana”
Trotsky in Tijuana recognizes the importance of Trotsky’s revolutionary vision and leadership in the years before he was exiled from Russia. And it shows that the force of his commitment to the transformative power of the working class continued into the 1930s.
The Peru Power Grab
In Peru, democracy has been usurped. A political bloc made up of the most conservative and grotesque elements of traditional politics has in a completely capricious manner carried out the impeachment of the person who was only a few days go president of the republic: Martín Vizcarra.
Puerto Rico elections 2020
After 2019 uprising, a new socialist formation and new political party, change the electoral game
Any attempt to address the electoral issue in Puerto Rico from a socialist perspective must begin by pointing out the limits of the electoral process in the island.
Exhaustion of signifiers: the current political crisis in Bolivia
This exhaustion of signifiers is one of the characteristics of the political moment Bolivia is living, in which, apparently, everyone wants the same things, but conceives them in opposite ways.
Cuba’s New Economic Turn
A series of recent developments in Cuba have struck the already faltering economy of the island leading the government to adopt a series of economic policies that point towards a greater opening to capital while maintaining the political controls of the one-party state.
Bolivia: Amid new crisis, coup government seeks to divide spoils, impunity
Just weeks out from the October 18 elections, Bolivia’s coup government is again in crisis following the departure of three key ministers over an unconstitutional attempt to privatise an electricity company.
Hearts on Fire for the 43
On the sixth anniversary of the forced disappearance of the 43 Ayoztinapa college students, a flurry of developments is spurring optimism among long traumatized relatives of the students and their dedicated core of supporters.
Mexico’s AMLO Is No Leftist, as His Handling of Covid Demonstrates
Not only is AMLO’s government not socialist, it is not democratic, it is not competent, and it is not socially responsible. AMLO is a populist with a leftist image and rightist policies.
Subcomandante Marcos: The Last Global Ethical Hero?
If you want a handy little book of just 100 pages that reads like a long Wikipedia article, this is your book. If you want a discussion of Marcos’ ideas and his role in Mexican political life and in the global left, you will be disappointed.
Revolution Means Taking Care of the Future
In their determination and radical nature, contemporary feminisms are initiating radical breaks – in our bodies, on the streets, in bed, and in the household. The slogan of the feminist movement in Argentina sums them up: “We want to change everything!”
The Life of A Strategist: Adolfo Gilly’s Biography of Felipe Ángeles
Adolfo Gilly’s most recent book, so far available only in Spanish, is a long (almost 800-page) book dealing with the life of a Mexican general who played a crucial role in the battles of Torreón and Zacatecas at a crucial stage in the Mexican Revolution.
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