Altered States: Reconfiguration and Struggles in the Region to Come. Reflections on Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean
Franco rossi[1]
The first discussion of the Altered States Cycle: Towards the reconfiguration of the state in the post-pandemic scenario in Latin America? Panelists from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean reflected on the tensions existing in the region from the perspective of the State-society axis.
Latin America and the Caribbean are at the epicenter of the pandemic. The reality of each country is being shaped by health and social crises. The worsening inequalities and asymmetries have tested the capacity of states to respond. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, communities are weaving networks of solidarity to guarantee the living conditions that capital denies them. In this time, when it is imperative to reflect on and build principles that transcend borders, the CLACSO Working Group Disputed statesHe proposed a series of talks that tends to intertwine ideas and experiences.
The series consists of three sessions. The first brought together voices from the Caribbean and Central America, while the following sessions will address the Andean region and the Southern Cone. Carolina Bautista, from Colombia, initiated the first exchange. With a warm and patient tone, she began by highlighting the specificities of each country and stated that the crisis the region is experiencing is not new. She invited participants to examine the elements, tensions, and challenges that can inform the practices, analyses, and activities of the people. From there, she posed the first question: What are the main questions being raised about the State and social processes within this framework of regional crisis?
From Guatemala, Mario Sosa argued that the crisis unleashed by the pandemic exposes the ways in which the state favors capital and demonstrates that the crisis is multidimensional. There is a collapse of the public health system. Guatemala's few national hospitals are overwhelmed, and a substantial increase in deaths has been observed. The dismantling of the state, fostered by neoliberal policies over four decades, has been laid bare. "We are facing a state incapable of generating trust and tranquility," he warned. He then listed four key factors for understanding the country's reality: the accumulation model based on the plunder of raw materials; the political regime serving corporate interests; the political ties with the United States; and the system of state capture and co-optation.
Melissa Salgado, after thanking the organizers for the invitation, reviewed El Salvador's recent history. She explained that the rise to power of the notorious businessman Nayib Bukele coincided with the inability of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) to implement fundamental economic and political reforms. Liberal representative democracy continued uninterrupted. Bukele won the 2019 elections with a major advertising campaign but without a government plan. Uncertainty lessened as the president integrated the armed forces into the government. Once the total lockdown was decreed, the political and health crisis was addressed with "a predominance of militarized improvisation."
In Haiti, the pandemic arrived recently. It came late, but at the wrong time. Poverty hovers around 70%, and the dense urban population makes proper isolation impossible. There are no healthcare teams to cope with the spread of the virus. Micherline Islanda Aduel explained that this situation is a product of repeated waves of privatization. They have gutted the public sector. The liberalization of the economy, the rising cost of basic goods, and the poor housing and food conditions are the worst of the problems, the Haitian activist emphasized. On the other hand, there is the daily work of peasant and urban movements. They are the ones who can resolve this situation. The government has no legitimacy. Nobody believes them. “Today it’s about defeating dependency and colonialism,” said Micherline, “every disease becomes a disaster in this Black land, the land of freedom.”
From Mexico, Lucio Oliver highlighted the gap between what society expects from the state and what the state actually does. In this regard, Oliver argued that it has been demonstrated that healthcare systems were not designed to serve everyone equally. In Mexico, as in other countries in the region, high levels of precariousness prevent people from staying home. Conditions vary widely. Environmental problems, the consumption of unsafe food, and the lack of access to clean water for a large part of the population exacerbate the health crisis. Added to this is the increase in gender-based violence against women and children—problems that states, incidentally, tend to ignore. According to Oliver, “the WHO encourages passivity and disorganization among the majority and reinforces state bureaucracy.” However, he asserted that there are active agents: small producers, farmers, and workers. According to Oliver, these individuals have sharpened their critical reading skills but have not developed a structural challenge to capitalism. They have not been able to construct a program that surpasses López Obrador's.
For his part, his fellow countryman, Magdiel Sánchez, described the situation of the popular sectors and their relationship with the government. He affirmed that the existing political awareness is abundant, but considered that the desired social changes cannot be achieved due to the multidimensional violence that has been suffered for decades. In that sense, he expressed that López Obrador's electoral victory corresponded more to popular rejection of certain regressive proposals than to a full agreement with his national project.
After a first round of presentations, with a southern perspective on the issue, Carolina took the floor again. She outlined the multitude of open questions, highlighted the panel's epistemic richness, and then invited everyone to consider some key points for the times ahead. Mario Sosa arranged his notes and, with precision, explained that the economic recession is not a matter for tomorrow, but is already happening. He also warned that only through popular organization can an alternative be built. In Guatemala, a new political subject, pluralistic and heterogeneous, is leading the struggles, with novel narratives and practices that tend to transcend mere institutionalization. While the demands are still fragmented, according to Sosa, the establishment of a Plurinational State could be the unifying force of a new power bloc. From this subaltern space, the political regime and the capitalist accumulation model are being challenged.
Crossing seas and through dense jungles, the voices intertwined, offering reflections, tones, and nuances. The analytical update on the central region of Our America was gradually completed. Throughout this journey, the authoritarian approach to managing social conflict appeared repeatedly. In the case of El Salvador, a strong presidential system, backed by coercive forces, currently leaves no room for alternatives. Melissa Salgado warned about this situation and explained that neoliberal integration will deepen. In that country, multinational corporations exert influence in territories without state mediation. The government only intervenes when it needs to control the population or to implement legislation detrimental to workers, as was the case with the recent teleworking law.
In Mexico, López Obrador's victory has generated some hope. It represents a shift in the continental balance of power. However, the country's ties of dependence on the United States, and the development program being promoted by the government, signal its potential scope. Lucio Oliver believes this is an opportune moment to deploy a war of attritionTherefore, it is necessary to deepen democracy in all areas. Capitalizing on the social aspirations awakened by the change in government, he proposed expanding work in neighborhoods and communities, without relying on wishful thinking, toward a shared direction for the State. “This is a historic opportunity for Mexico. For the first time in seventy years, workers can take the reins in the State to bring about transformations,” Oliver concluded.
The speakers agreed that the crisis entails a resurgence of capitalism. The offensive against rural communities will involve severe cuts to social programs and wages. Therefore, according to Magdiel Sánchez, it is necessary to denounce the neoliberal measures of all governments, including progressive ones. In the Mexican case, economic growth will depend on rural communities, and according to Magdiel, attempts to achieve greater productivity through expansion will strain the president's base. "The name can change—'post-pandemic,' 'new reality'—but, in any case, violence against rural communities will intensify," the young activist concluded.
Thus we arrive at the end of this exchange of voices and perspectives, in which diverse horizons intertwined, from the social struggles of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. The panorama presented foreshadows a conflictive landscape for the peoples who inhabit the region. The struggle as a polysemous vital force of the subaltern classes was revalued. The networks of cooperation and reciprocity that have spread in response to the pandemic, in rural and urban communities, make visible alternative ways of life to those imposed by neoliberalism. In turn, the fight for political forms that respond to the needs of the populations appears to be a key issue to follow closely, as is the capacity for influence, production, and state leadership of popular movements and organizations. Two meetings remain: July 17th, focusing on the Andean region, and July 24th, on the Southern Cone. Perhaps, as Micherline expressed, the exchange of initiatives, seeds, and alternatives for subsistence is the most hopeful thing that this reality of regional misery and suffering leaves us with. Perhaps these encounters offer a chance to find common ground.
Panelists: Monica Mazariegos (Guatemala) – Melissa Salgado (El Salvador) – Magdiel Sánchez (Mexico) – Camille Chalmers (Haiti) – Lucio Oliver (Mexico) – Moderator: Carolina Bautista. Organized by: CLACSO Working Group on Disputed States.
Watch the full video of the discussion
[1]* Facilitator of the CLACSO Working Group on States in Dispute.
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