The Politicization of Corporate Power and the Rise of Latin America’s Left

• In Event: 066 - Section on Political Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 06. Political Parties

Abstract

This study unpacks the political discontent that ushered in a wave of left presidencies in Latin America since 1998. It derives from Gramsci an alternative interpretation that left electoral power hinges on a break in the hegemony of the dominant economic elite. It uses Latin America’s premier public opinion poll, Latinobarometer, to assess at the individual-level, associations that others have typically inferred from aggregate-level associations. It demonstrates that left victories can be explained not just by frustration with political failures, neoliberal reforms or U.S. influence, but more precisely by the politicization of corporate power, especially the power of U.S. aligned corporations. It thereby establishes the need to move beyond Polanyian-inspired anti-neoliberal backlash interpretations.

Author

• Leslie C. Gates, State University of New York-Binghamton