"The right wing learned from the political training processes of left-wing movements."

Within the framework of the international forum Activisms and social movements in Latin America and the Caribbean 65 years after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Lía Pinheiro Barbosa, a member of the CLACSO Steering Committee for Brazil, spoke with CLACSO.tv.

The PhD in Latin American Studies highlighted the need to consider the rise of the right wing in the region beyond the current moment: “There is a historical element that we can lose sight of, because sometimes we think of the immediate prospect of Bolsonaro or Milei being elected as if it were a new phenomenon. But in reality, when we take a historical perspective, we see that a moment culminating today was managed at least 20 or 30 years ago. I think there was a mistake on the part of the left, especially those leftists who opted to challenge hegemony by electing progressive governments, in thinking that the election of a president would be enough to pave the way for an expansion of the state in terms of public policies, for the advancement of an agenda that was already being championed 30 or 40 years earlier. And in a way, focusing on the machinery of the state and leaving somewhat uncovered the foundation for more intensive political education, as had been done throughout the 50 years of the 20th century with popular education, liberation theology, etc.".

Regarding this, he added: “It’s not that progressive governments haven’t made progress due to pressure from below, from popular sectors. They have made progress, for example, in public policies in the field of education, in democratizing access to university, in some aspects of affordable housing, and also in a government policy that reduced the number of people living in extreme poverty. These were indeed achievements that owe much to the political action of these movements. But based on these achievements, it became clear that we could advance further and no longer feel the risk of the far right’s presence.”

“It was somewhat forgotten that this same right wing that lost the elections at the beginning of the 21st century didn't remain idle. It even learned a great deal from the political training processes of left-wing movements, from the left-wing parties themselves, the unions, etc., to begin a process of building its own base and to have the historical patience to, in 20 years, form a historical bloc that takes to the streets and engages in ideological debate,” he asserted.

Interviewed by Gustavo Lema.