One Day University

Since 2000, Latin America has experienced an unprecedented turn to the left. Whereas 1990s had been the decade of the “Washington Consensus,” in the region, the 2000s have seen the election of leftist or populist forces—including Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. Today, 70 percent of Latin Americans are governed by left-of-center parties, and anti-Americanism is running high. In Argentina, for example, President Bush’s approval ratings have dipped as low as 3 percent. Yet the trend is as diverse as it is far-reaching. While Venezuela and Bolivia have embraced socialism and openly challenged the U.S., those in Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay have embraced free markets and adopted pro-U.S. foreign policies. This lecture examines the causes and consequences of Latin America’s shift to the Left and explores the possibility that Hugo Chavez—or extra-regional actors, such as China—will pose a serious challenge to the U.S.’s longstanding political and economic dominance in the region.