Contesting neoliberal hegemony - The case of Bolivia

Mike Geddes, University of Warwick, UK

mike.geddes@associate.wbs.ac.uk

 Contesting neoliberal hegemony  – the case of Bolivia

It is widely recognised that some of the most important challenges to the hegemony of neoliberalism have come from Latin America.  There is however very considerable debate about the degree to which actual practices match the radical discourses of governments and political parties in countries such as Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia.    This paper focuses on the case of Bolivia (Geddes 2009, 2010a and b).  Bolivia is an interesting case in that the discourse of the governing MAs party (in which the vice-president, Alvaro Garcia Linera, is a Gramscian intellectual) has veered between explicit anti-neoliberalism and notions such as ‘Andean capitalism’ , while the degree to which concrete policy and practice exhibits continuities as well as breaks with neoliberalism is hotly disputed both by actors within Bolivia and by academic commentators.  This paper reviews both the academic literature and Bolivian political and policy developments in recent years in exploring the challenges of contesting neoliberalism.   A specific focus is on the interaction between national, local and transnational action spaces (such as ALBA) in attempts to construct an alternative hegemonic discourse and practice.

Geddes M (2009) Beyond the neoliberal state in Latin America?  Paper to Historical Materialism Annual Conference, London, November 2009.

Geddes M (2010a) Building and contesting neoliberalism at the local level: reflections on recent experience in Bolivia.  International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 34, 1, 163-173.

Geddes M (2010b) The Bolivian Road to Socialism?  Red Pepper  174, 28-31.