TUC president and POA leader STEVE GILLAN speaks to Ben Chacko on the eve of Congress 2026
EVER since the violent birth of neoliberalism in the 1973 coup in Chile, its Latin American cheerleaders have pushed for a minimal role for the state in the economy but an active one for it in repressing those opposed to free-market extremism.
Ecuador in recent years has been a clear example of this approach. But a new coalition, the Union for Hope, which announced its Presidential candidates this week, is seeking not only to resist this neo-liberal offensive but to restore the social progress and vibrant democracy that made Latin America a beacon for the global left at the turn of the century.
Ecuador had one of the most successful governments in that progressive wave. Under President Rafael Correa, poverty fell by a third, Ecuador achieved the region’s greatest reduction in inequality, strong economic growth, huge investments in healthcare and education alongside radical tax justice and debt cancellation polices.
FRANCISCO DOMINGUEZ introduces the background to a conference on defending Latin America’s sovereignty
Latin America is being swept by a series of right-wing electoral victories. But behind that shift to the right lies less of an ideological conversion than anger, fear, insecurity, and a deep crisis of democracy, asserts MARC VANDEPITTE
Far-right forces are rising across Latin America and the Caribbean, armed with a common agenda of anti-communism, the culture war, and neoliberal economics, writes VIJAY PRASHAD
LEE BROWN highlights the latest attempts to undo progressive reforms instated during the presidency of Rafael Correa


