IV ISA Forum of Sociology (February 23-28, 2021)

238

The Politics of Inclusive Social Protection in Latin America

Abstract Submissions Closed

RC19 Sociology of Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy (host committee)

Language: Spanish and English

Session Type: Oral

Latin America remains one of the most unequal regions in the world despite a long history of welfare state development. Informal and fragmented welfare systems have traditionally left many vulnerable social groups without protection (rural populations, informal workers, women and the poor). Nonetheless, the last two decades have witnessed a departure from this historical tendency and the introduction of a number of policy innovations aimed at producing greater inclusivity in social assistance, education, healthcare and pensions. Several countries also initiated reforms to counter clientelism and discretionality in the administration of measures. In many countries the advent of the pink tide marked a stark turn from the long standing tendency to privilege the urban middle and upper classes, but reforms were initiated by governments across the ideological spectrum, sometimes under the pressure of mass protests and collective mobilizations. At the same time, ideas about basic universalism and global social protection floors have permeated international organizations such as the World Bank and the ILO. It is clear that dynamics of inclusive social policy reforms are shaped in multi-layered polities and by the interaction between actors located in different political arenas. We invite papers investigating the role of political actors in fostering or hindering inclusive social policy reforms (e.g. the role of partisanship, electoral dynamics, the recent right-wing turn, international pressures, social coalitions, mobilizations from below and elites), investigating their interactions, or presenting new concepts and approaches to understand dynamics of inclusive reforms in Latin America.