Vol.63 No.2

2023（No.448）［Abstracts］

Is Latin American Left Regenerating Again?

―Beyond Realpolitik between “Great Powers”―

MATSUSHITA Kiyoshi＊
In the early 21st century, a series of left-wing governments swept into power across Latin
America. This is the so-called Pink Tide of left-wing governments. Those governments lifted
millions out of poverty while forging alternative forms of regional integration to counter
Washingtonʼs disastrous neoliberal economic policies. But those governments could not endurea backslash and the Right resurged.
After years of tilting rightward, Latin America is hurtling to the left, a watershed momentthat began in 2018 with the?election of Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador?in Mexico and could
culminate with a victory later this year by a leftist candidate in Brazil. It means regeneration ofLatin America Left again and what many are calling a new Pink Tide. The new resurgent leftwing governments also faces steep challenges.
The focal point of this paper are as follows; What lessons can these leaders learn from theﬁrst Pink Tide and the prospect for transformative change?
In consideration oﬀ the above mentioned, this paper lays out some of the errors and ﬂawsof the Pink Tide including the tendency toward deindustrialization; the ecological damage that
accompanied the extractive model; the failure to consult rural communities including theMapuche; and the failure to respect social movement autonomy. Moreover, new left
governments will get into many troubles with sabotage of the right wings, militarization ofsociety, and conservation of mass communications, and so on.
Finally, considering the possibility of taking geopolitical opportunity by the dispute
between China and the United of America, the strategies of Latin America like “equidistantforeign policy” and “active nonalignment” are worth notice.
＊AAIJ Member, Professor Emeritus, Ritsumeikan University― 100 ―

Development Model of Lulaʼs New Government in Brazil

KOIKE Yoichi＊
In Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva became president in January 2023. Former President
Bolsonaro has consistently denied defeat, saying there was fraud in the election by electronicvoting. A week later, Bolsonaro supporters broke into the Congress, the Presidential Oﬃce,
and the Supreme Court. In response, the new government quickly restored order, and Brazil
and the international community expressed their support for Lula's government. The incident
showed that Brazilian society is divided and democracy still faces difficulties. At the sametime, it was an opportunity to show that Brazil is seeking social integration and the deepeningof democracy. Expectations are high for the Lula administration. Above all, it is necessary torestore the sovereignty of the people who have been despised by the Bolsonaro politics and toconsolidate democracy. It is also expected that policies will re-include people who have been
excluded from society due to neoliberal policies. The purpose of this paper is to clarify thedevelopment model of the new Lula administration. The development model here refers to thecombination and relationship of various institutions for the development of society in a broad
sense, that is, market, state, and society (community or civil society). The state in new Lulaadministration will play a greater role than in the Bolsonaro administration. It is not touncontrollably expand the sphere of activity of the state. This is to supplement the market inareas where it does not function adequately and to regulate the self-indulgence of the market.
On the other hand, to prevent excessive expansion of the state and to operate the administrationeﬃciently, it is necessary to make eﬀective use of market functions. This is because the market
disperses power. In the new administration, the role of society or community will be more
important than the market or the state. Society controls the market and the state to functioneﬀectively in line with its goals, also becomes a safety net against the failure of the market andthe state. But democratic state and plural society are far away in Brazil. The political base of
the Lula regime is fragile. There are diﬀerences between coalition parties in terms of views of
the nation and policies. Under these circumstances, if the Lula administration were to fall, it
would not be by adopting radical policies, but rather by pandering to the ruling coalition,opposition parties, and public opinion, and its policies would become inconsistent. In order toprevent this, it is necessary to show the public a more holistic view of society, the ideal state ofsociety in Brazil, and the process to achieve it. The development and institutional issues facedby the Lula administration are universal, not limited to Brazil, and are our challenges.
＊Visiting Researcher, BKC Research Organization of Social Sciences,Ritsumeikan University― 101 ―