Preliminary analysis of the macroeconomic policy of center-left governments in South America 2003-2015

Abstract

There were no macroeconomic policies typical of center-left governments in South America at the beginning of the 21st century. Expansionary fiscal policy was the most frequent feature, based on the boom in commodity prices, which has nothing original, but with emphasis on social spending, the only component of fact original. Despite close ideological positions, the macroeconomic policies of each government reflected traditional practices and conceptions of the country, its model of economic policy and development, even taking into account the ambition of structural change proposals or the degree of political radicalization. Constraints and conflicts that each government faced at the beginning or during its trajectory explain little macroeconomic policy options. The absence of clear guidelines in this field can be situated in great controversies: persistence on the Latin American left of conceptions that distrust capitalist modernity, its institutions and practices, which leads to the combination of radical discourse against "the elites" and "the system" with pragmatic or liberal-inspired economic policies; lack of prior reflection on how to govern, with little interest in the experiences of the left in similar situations in the past; difficulties to articulate the management of the economy with the feasibility of their projects of changes, even limited, how to distribute income and improve the living conditions of the majority. The theme is very relevant, also because the difficulties in the management of the economy had great weight in the political difficulties of several of these governments and in the formation of the circumstances that helped the return of right-wing and extreme-right forces. The article is part of an ongoing research project and presents preliminary analyses and conclusions.