Gramsci’s “Passive Revolution” as Applied to Latin America does not Serve to Demonstrate that Pink Tide leaders (Maduro, AMLO, Lula, etc.) are Sellouts

In spite of concessions to business groups and retreats on other fronts, Pink Tide leaders from Lula to Maduro are still progressive. Writers on the left who call Pink Tide leaders a sell-out display a monochromatic vision of the world, a far cry from what Marx and Engels had in mind.

The following is an article of mine published in Monthly Review that attempts to refute the notion that Gramsci’s concept of “passive revolution” is applicable to Latin America’s Pink Tide.

https://monthlyreview.org/2024/10/01/applying-misapplying-gramscios-passive-revolution-to-latin-america/

 

The Senatorial Race in Maryland: Democracy gets Mocked

In the Senate race here in Maryland, I have received propaganda in the mail, and seen ads on TV and internet, perhaps 100 altogether. All of the ads favoring the Republican candidate Larry Hogan bashes his rival Angela Alsobrooks for having claimed a tax credit on her property that she allegedly was not entitled to. And all of Alsobrooks ads attack Hogan for claiming to support reproductive rights even though he has in the past opposed it. Not one ad out of 100 or more talks about the candidates own positions on different issues.

 

Hogan’s super PAC is spending $18.3 million dollars to discredit Alsobrooks, but they’re doing it only on the basis of calling her out for one tax credit that she has claimed over the years. Out-of-stater Kenneth C. Griffin from Chicago, who is worth 35 billion dollars, has donated 10 million dollars to Hogan’s super PAC. Is this what democracy is supposed to look like? Given this perversion of what democracy is, what right does the U.S. have to shove democracy down the throats of other countries, eg. Cuba, Venezuela, etc.?