For the past two decades, Latin America — particularly the Southern Cone — was characterized by a leftward turn under the so-called “Pink Tide” governments. However, deepening economic crisis and mass discontent spurred by increasing austerity has resulted in reactionary trends and new right-wing governments assuming power. In Argentina, the neoliberal president, Mauricio Macri represents this backlash against the Pink Tide. In Brazil, the right-wing government of Michel Temer came to presidential power through an institutional coup d’etat with an explicit agenda to gut pensions and labor protections. This regressive power grab was achieved by imprisoning political oppositionists and bypassing popular elections.
Mexico, which had been a privileged partner of the United States is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis as a result of the war against drug trafficking and U.S. imperialist oppression. Right now, there is a strong possibility that the candidate of the center left, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, may win the next presidential election. As new regimes attempt to take political control, workers, the Left and the popular movement are beginning to struggle. In Argentina, there has been mass mobilization against the austerity program and the repression of the government, most notably in the case of the disappearance of activist Santiago Maldonado. In Brazil, there has been significant resistance against the coup, the assassination of the socialist city council member Marielle Franco, and new austerity. In Mexico, organized struggle has emerged against militarization, imperialist dispossession, and for the rights of migrant workers. This panel will deal with this and other questions of the current Latin American reality. The panel includes socialist militants and authors from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.