The Long Transition
Four decades since the passing of Spain's democratic Constitution, the "regime of '78" is sharply criticized by the Left and the Catalan independence movements. Yet former prime minister Felipe González still defends it.
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A Communist Mayor in Chile Explains How to Govern Locally From the Left
Even under right-wing governments, local leftist leaders can have a massive impact. Daniel Jadue describes the “people’s pharmacy,” cheap eye-care and glasses, public housing, left approaches to community safety, and much more instituted during his time as the Communist mayor of Recoleta, one of the thirty-seven municipalities that make up Greater Santiago, Chile.
Why Haitians Are Protesting En Masse
Mass protests in Haiti have reached a fever pitch. Their target: the country's venal political class and its self-serving, US-backed president.
Lenín Moreno Has Betrayed Ecuador. Now the Country Is in Revolt.
Ecuador’s Lenín Moreno promised a less “divisive” approach than his left-wing predecessor Rafael Correa. But Ecuadorians are seeing through his con and resisting austerity and neoliberal reforms.
Left-Populism Is Down but Not Out
Setbacks for left-wing parties across Europe have led many analysts to declare the end of the “left-populist moment” which began after the financial crisis. But these defeats don’t have to be permanent — and populist strategies remain a vital means of mass mobilization.
When the State Steps in to Save Profit
Faced with another global recession, many governments are responding with even stronger state interventions than they did in the 2008 financial crisis. But stimulus packages to prop up businesses must also pose the question of public control — not just bailing out corporations, but repurposing their operations to confront the disasters ahead of us.
Chile’s Establishment Is Still Blocking a Real Break With the Past
This October's historic referendum in Chile saw a massive 78 percent vote to abandon the Pinochet-era constitution. Today, social movements are pushing for a new document that offers broad welfare and environmental guarantees — but first, they must confront an oligarchy hell-bent on thwarting any fundamental change.
Empire’s Workshop Under a Flailing Empire
Latin America is not the United States’ “backyard.” It’s the training ground, historian Greg Grandin argues, for periods of imperial retrenchment and regroupment. But it’s also a region where radical movements have consistently refused to be crushed by US imperial power.
Ronald Reagan Made Central America a Killing Field
In the 1980s, the Reagan administration used Central America as a testing ground to rehabilitate US imperial "hard power" after defeat in Vietnam. The results were predictable: death squads, massacres, and murderous repression of left-wing movements.
Twenty Years Ago, the Iraq War Changed Everything — and Taught Elites Nothing
The ripple effects of the disastrous Iraq invasion still course through the Middle East and domestic US politics decades later. Yet there’s little evidence those in power have learned anything from it.
Haiti’s Gang Violence Is a Symptom of Its Political Crisis
A UN-sponsored international force has been deployed in Haiti with a mandate to clamp down on gang violence. But the strength of the gangs is inextricably linked to the character of the Haitian state and its ties to economic elites at home and abroad.
From Open Door to Open Border
The US and Cuba have finally resumed diplomatic relations. But what will the restored ties mean for immigration policy?
Austerity Unbroken
Syriza was elected a year ago today, only to retreat in the face of European pressure. Is there a way forward for the Greek left?
Ortega’s Betrayal
Today's Sandinista leaders are a far cry from the revolutionaries who once inspired the international left.
The Murder of Orlando Letelier
On September 21, 1976, the US-backed Pinochet government assassinated a leftist Chilean dissident on the streets of Washington, DC.
Make a Desert, Call It Peace
The failure of Colombia's peace deal will only benefit the forces of violent right-wing repression.
Loved by the Workers, Feared by the Bosses
Three years after his death, British trade union leader Bob Crow continues to provide an example of militant working-class leadership.
The Long Struggle Against Dependency
The Pink Tide governments’ efforts to break from the tyrannies of world market dependence are not new. Neither are their failures to do so.
Down, But Not Out
The Latin American left was on life-support in 1990. A decade later, it was in power.