Socialism Just Imploded in BoliviaIs this the last gasp of Latin America's disastrous "pink tide"?
César Báez
8.21.2025
Two decades ago, democratic socialism was rising in Latin America. The so-called "pink tide" swept leftist leaders into power in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Their useful idiots in the U.S. were delighted. Linguist and political commentator Noam Chomsky saw "seeds of a better world" in Venezuela. Filmmaker Michael Moore praised Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez as a champion of the poor. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz claimed he was witnessing an "economic miracle" in Argentina. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) said Bolivia's socialist government had improved the lives of the poorest, giving indigenous people a voice. Former President Barack Obama called Brazilian President Lula da Silva the "most popular politician on Earth."
The dream collapsed, to put it mildly.
Venezuela and Nicaragua have sunk into authoritarianism. Argentina endured a period of economic collapse marked by hyperinflation and widespread poverty. Lula's movement landed Brazil in a historic recession with a 12 percent unemployment rate. In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, pushed debt to alarming levels, while growth slowed.
Recent failures on the left have not guaranteed a lasting realignment, but they have opened space for leaders who promise a radical alternative.
Argentina's libertarian president, Javier Milei, has turned fiscal shock therapy into a political calling card, and the payoff is visible as inflation cools, poverty falls, and growth returns. In Ecuador, Daniel Noboa secured a second term by blending tough security policies at home with pragmatic economic partnerships abroad, striking new deals with China while maintaining close ties to the U.S. Colombia is poised to move sharply to the right in next year's election, with one leading contender, the conservative journalist Vicky Dávila, sounding a lot like Milei.
The most recent reversal is happening in Bolivia, where voters just rejected democratic socialism by a lopsided margin. The results mark a sharp turn away from the policies of former President Evo Morales, which have brought immense suffering to the country. In last week's election, the once-dominant Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) barely cleared 3 percent of the vote.
The socialist project "imploded by itself," Bolivian policy analyst Rolando Schrupp tells Reason, citing public exhaustion after nearly two decades of rule.
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https://reason.com/2025/08/21/socialism-just-imploded-in-bolivia/
