Latin America may be approaching a historic turning point in the areas of political incorporation and labor relations. The levels of economic and social dislocation and political flux in the region are opening up an opportunity for creative, entrepreneurial leaders to change the direction of employment, labor rights, and politics for a new generation. Doing nothing will ensure only that the promising shores of opportunity become the menacing shoals of crisis as the unbending realities of demographics, globalization, and populist opportunism threaten the political and economic fortunes of the region.
About the Authors
Christopher Sabatini
Christopher Sabatini is senior director of policy at the Americas Society and Council of the Americas, and has served as director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Endowment for Democracy.
Until recently, political scientists argued that democracy had poor chances of survival in a multiparty presidential regime. Latin America’s recent experience tells a different story.
President Rafael Correa, now entering his third term, has built a curious form of populist-authoritarian regime. He champions redistributionism and a kind of technocratic leftism while assaulting the traditional left along with such mainstays…
Dilma Rousseff won the 2010 presidential election as the handpicked successor of a towering political personality. Now she must assert firm sway over a ruling party and coalition to which…
