Latin America’s Pink Tide is Making a Comeback, but the Challenges these Governments Face Don’t have Easy Readymade Solutions

 Some writers on the left have condemned the pro-leftist governments in Latin America which have given the green light to mining and other developmentalist projects. The strategy of these governments, known as the Pink Tide, is to exploit raw materials while increasing the tax obligations of the multinational corporations in order to funnel the added revenue into social programs. The anti-Pink Tide writers on the left claim that the strategy of “extractivism,” or neo-extractivism as they put it, produces environmental destruction and leaves the country with little in the way of long-term development. But the strategy is not wrong in itself, in that it does not necessarily produce massive environmental devastation. Furthermore, the projects do not necessarily have to conform to the old model based on the exports of primary commodities, that is, mining and agricultural products not processed in the country. The devil is in the details. The following is a review of my edited “Latin American Extractivism: Dependency, Resource Nationalism and Resistance in Broad Perspective,” which points to the necessity to examine the specifics of each case rather than putting forward an all-encompassing critique of all projects. The review suggests the need to look at the broader issues and the challenges and limited options available to Pink Tide governments.

http://links.org.au/latin-american-extractivism