¡LA LUCHA CONTINÚA! Lessons from Bolivia and Latin America for the socialist struggle in the Philippines

Partido Sosyalista Lecture and Discussion Series I

• February 5, 6-8 PM

• Felicidad Cafe, 38 Maginhawa St. Diliman Quezon City

• Contact makilahok@sosyalista.ph to RSVP or for Zoom link

Starting in the early 2000s, leftist or left-leaning individuals and organizations were swept to power in various countries in Latin America, among them Hugo Chavez and the United Socialist Party in Venezuela, Lula da Silva and Workers’ Party in Brazil, Evo Morales and the Movement for Socialism in Bolivia. Heralded as the “Pink Tide,” this was seen by many as a positive sign marking the resurgence of the left not only in the region but across the world following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent rise of aggressive neoliberal globalization during the 90s. What followed, however, failed to match the rosy expectations of many progressives. Worse, the rise of left-wing governments in Latin America was soon followed by the coming to power of right-wing, authoritarian, or “populist” governments, most notably Bolsonaro in Brazil and Meile in Argentina. What went wrong? What can we learn?

In this inaugural installment of Partido Sosyalista’s Lecture and Discussion series, we hear from an activist-intellectual from Bolivia who was at the center of this Pink Tide, closely involved in the mass mobilizations which enabled the left to win state power, directly part of the government of Evo Morales, and later among this government’s most articulate and most trenchant critics from the left. Also a committed internationalist and a respected figure in the global movement against war and corporate globalization, he will share his reflections on the limits faced and mistakes made by the left in Bolivia and Latin America and draw out lessons socialists in the Philippines can reflect on as we too continue our struggle to achieve systemic transformations in the face of recurring setbacks.