Paths of Development in the Southern Cone: Deindustrialization and Reprimarization and their Social and Environmental Consequences (Palgrave Insights into Apocalypse Economics)

This book analyzes the recent development paths pursued by progressive governments in Argentina and Brazil, namely deindustrialization and reprimarization, and the social and environmental consequences thereof. A key part of understanding the trajectories in both Argentina and Brazil has been the role played by international institutions, especially the IMF and WTO, and also, the ever-growing hegemony of transnational corporations in the global economy and as a result, significantly limiting the possibilities of genuine development for local populations. Two major issues which extend beyond Latin America are: the expansion of genetically modified crops and agrotoxics and the concern for global food security and sovereignty; second, how reprimarization, associated with mining, cattle, soy and petroleum, has been key in leading to the risk of desertification in the Argentine pampas and also causing deforestation in the Amazon Rain forest, described as the lungs of the planet, and thus has major implications for climate change for the planet as a whole. In addition, this book engages with a number of theoretical issues: development and dependency in the periphery: neoliberal globalization, accumulation by dispossession, ecological and environmental debates and the role of extractivism and rent. This book is aimed for both academics, activists and those politically motivated to analyze, understand and push for social change from a critical perspective, and also, those interested in a radical analysis of paths of development, dependency and socioenvironmental issues in Latin America today. Acknowledgments Praise for Paths of Development in the Southern Cone Abbreviations Contents List of Figures 1 Introduction 2 Theoretical Issues 2.1 Center–Periphery and the Nature of Dependency 2.2 Neoliberal Globalization, TNCs, and the WTO 2.3 Hegemony of TNCs in the Global Economy 2.4 Role of Class Alliances 2.5 Role of Accumulation by Dispossession 2.6 Role of Ground Rent and Insertion in the World Economy 2.7 The 2nd Contradiction of Capitalism and the Environment 2.8 Final Considerations References 3 Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) in Argentina and Brazil 3.1 Transition from Agro-Export Economies Toward Industrialization 3.1.1 Argentina 3.1.1.1 Agro-Export Economy 3.1.1.2 Class Alliances 3.1.1.3 Nascent Industry 3.1.1.4 The Role of the State and Great Britain 3.1.2 Brazil 3.1.2.1 The Coffee Economy 3.1.2.2 Nascent Industry 3.2 First Phase of Industrialization in Argentina and Brazil 3.2.1 Argentine Industry (from WWI Till the 1930s) 3.2.2 Development of Argentine Industry 3.2.3 Shifts Within Agricultural Production and Toward Industry 3.2.4 Competition Between Great Britain and the US 3.2.5 Brazilian Industry (WWI Through Till the 1930s) 3.2.6 Coffee Crisis and Implications for Industry 3.2.7 Summary of Early ISI Period for Argentina and Brazil 3.3 ISI in Argentina and Brazil 3.3.1 Brazilian Industry in Vargas’s Novo Estado and Beyond 3.3.2 Industrialization Under Perón 3.3.3 The Next Stages of ISI in Brazil from Kubitschek through Geisel 3.3.4 The 2nd Stage of ISI in Argentina from Frondizi till the Coup of 1976 3.3.4.1 Onganía and the “Revolución Argentina” 3.4 Final Considerations References 4 Transition from ISI to Neoliberalism 4.1 Rise of Neoliberalism 4.1.1 Ideological Dimension 4.1.2 Theoretical Dimension 4.1.3 The Real Economy Dimension 4.1.4 Political Dimension 4.2 Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) 4.3 The Shift from Industry to Finance; Petrodollars, the IMF, and Debt 4.4 The Debt Crisis, the IMF, and the Four Pillars of Neoliberalism 4.4.1 Financial Deregulation 4.4.2 Trade Liberalization 4.4.3 Privatizations 4.4.4 Flexibilization of Labor 4.5 Neoliberal Globalization and the Role of TNCs 4.6 A Summary of the General Impacts of Neoliberalism in Latin America 4.7 Conclusion References 5 Argentina’s Quarter Century Experiment with Neoliberalism: From Dictatorship to Depression 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The Dictatorship of the 1970s, the IMF and the Shift to Neoliberalism 5.3 The Transition to Democracy and Hyperinflation—The Alfonsín Period 5.4 Neoliberalism Under Menem and the Impact of Globalization 5.4.1 Convertibility and Financial Reforms 5.4.2 Privatizations of Public Enterprises 5.4.3 Privatization of Social Security 5.4.4 Trade Liberalization 5.4.5 Deindustrialization Revisited 5.5 Neoliberalism’s Impact on Workers 5.6 Argentina at the Abyss 5.7 Foreign Debt and the Role of the IMF 5.8 Conclusions References 6 Late Neoliberalism in Brazil 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Late Neoliberalism in Brazil 6.2.1 Collor de Melo 6.2.2 Plano Real 6.2.3 Cardoso’s Government 6.2.4 Foreign Direct Investment 6.2.5 Currency Crisis of 1999 6.2.6 Lula’s Government 6.2.7 External Vulnerability, Foreign Debt, and Internal Debt 6.3 Socioeconomic Impacts of Neoliberal Globalization (1990–2007) 6.3.1 Trade Liberalization 6.3.2 Privatizations 6.3.3 Growth 6.3.4 Wages 6.3.5 Unemployment and Underemployment 6.3.6 Inequality 6.3.7 Poverty 6.3.8 Winners and Losers Under Neoliberalism in Brazil 6.4 Conclusions References 7 Deindustrialization and Reprimarization 7.1 Introduction 7.2 From ISI Through Neoliberalism to Deindustrialization 7.3 Argentina’s Deindustrialization 7.4 A Difficult Trajectory for Brazilian Industry at the Outset of the Twenty-First Century 7.5 The Current Tendency Toward Reprimarization in Argentina and Brazil 7.5.1 Soy in Brazil and Argentina 7.5.2 Soy, Pesticides, and GMOs 7.6 Reprimarization and Accumulation by Dispossession 7.6.1 The Concept of Accumulation by Dispossession in Harvey 7.6.2 The Role of the State 7.6.3 Accumulation by Dispossession and the Amazon 7.6.4 The Military Government (1964–1985) and Policies of Expropriation 7.6.5 Agribusiness, Accumulation, and Dispossession 7.6.6 Mega-Mining and Accumulation by Dispossession 7.6.7 The Role of the State Revisited 7.7 Conclusions References 8 Social and Environmental Impacts of “New Development Paths” 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Neodevelopmentalism—A New Development Trajectory 8.3 Socioeconomic Assessment of Neodevelopmentalism 8.3.1 Argentina 8.3.1.1 Growth 8.3.1.2 Labor Market 8.3.1.3 Real Wages 8.3.1.4 Informal Employment 8.3.1.5 Poverty 8.3.1.6 Inequality and the Gini Coefficient 8.3.1.7 Social Programs 8.3.2 Brazil 8.3.2.1 Growth 8.3.2.2 Real Wages 8.3.2.3 Unemployment 8.3.2.4 Informal Employment 8.3.2.5 Poverty 8.3.2.6 Inequality 8.3.2.7 Social Programs 8.4 Neodevelopmentalism, Reprimarization, and the Environment 8.4.1 Environmental Problems with Soy, Pesticides, and GMOs 8.4.2 Deforestation of the Amazon Rain Forest 8.4.3 Climate Change 8.4.4 Environmental Impacts and Resistance in Mining 8.4.5 Hydroelectric Power Plants 8.4.6 Petroleum and Gas 8.5 Summary of Social and Environmental Impacts of Neodevelopmentalism 8.6 Conclusions References 9 Present and Future Paths, Development and Dependency 9.1 Introduction 9.2 The Macri Government 9.3 Brazil: From Dilma to Temer to Bolsonaro 9.4 Problems of the Current Paths 9.5 Mercosur—Problems of the Past; Potential for the Future 9.6 Future Development Paths References 10 Conclusions 10.1 Summary of the Book 10.2 Future or Alternative Paths of Development 10.2.1 Transition Away from TNC-Dominated Capitalism 10.3 Post-script on COVID-19 References References Index This book analyzes the recent development paths pursued by progressive governments in Argentina and Brazil, namely deindustrialization and reprimarization, and the social and environmental consequences thereof. Two major issues which extend beyond Latin America are: the expansion of genetically modified crops and agrotoxics and the concern for global food security and sovereignty; second, how reprimarization, associated with mining, oil, soy and cattle, has been key in leading to the risk of desertification in the Argentine pampas and also causing deforestation in the Amazon Rain forest, described as the lungs of the planet, and thus has major implications for climate change for the planet as a whole. A key part of understanding the trajectories in both Argentina and Brazil has been the role played by international institutions, especially the IMF and WTO, and also the ever-growing hegemony of transnational corporations in the global economy and significantly limiting the possibilities of genuine development for local populations. This book also engages with a number of theoretical issues: development and dependency in the periphery: neoliberal globalization, accumulation by dispossession, ecological and environmental debates and the role of extractivism and rent. This book is aimed for both academics, activists and those politically motivated to analyze, understand and push for social change from a critical perspective, and also those interested in a radical analysis of paths of development, dependency and socioenvironmental issues in Latin America today. Paul Cooney is a political economist, who received his Ph. D. from the New School for Social Research in 1990. He has recently taught at the UFPA in the Brazilian Amazon, at the UNGS in Argentina, and is currently a professor at the Catholic University of Quito, Ecuador. In addition to this book, his current research topics are neoliberal globalization in Latin America, and their socio-environmental impacts, and ecological economics. He is currently a member of the URPE Steering Committee and serves on the editorial boards of the following journals: Research in Political Economy, Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, and Revista Ensayos de Economia This book analyzes the recent development paths pursued by progressive governments in Argentina and Brazil, namely deindustrialization and reprimarization, and the social and environmental consequences thereof. Two major issues which extend beyond Latin America are: the expansion of genetically modified crops and agrotoxics and the concern for global food security and sovereignty; second, how reprimarization, associated with mining, oil, soy and cattle, has been key in leading to the risk of desertification in the Argentine pampas and also causing deforestation in the Amazon Rain forest, described as the lungs of the planet, and thus has major implications for climate change for the planet as a whole. A key part of understanding the trajectories in both Argentina and Brazil has been the role played by international institutions, especially the IMF and WTO, and also the ever-growing hegemony of transnational corporations in the global economy and significantly limiting the possibilities of genuine development for local populations. This book also engages with a number of theoretical issues: development and dependency in the periphery: neoliberal globalization, accumulation by dispossession, ecological and environmental debates and the role of extractivism and rent. This book is aimed for both academics, activists and those politically motivated to analyze, understand and push for social change from a critical perspective, and also those interested in a radical analysis of paths of development, dependency and socioenvironmental issues in Latin America today. Paul Cooney is a political economist, who received his Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research in 1990. He has recently taught at the UFPA in the Brazilian Amazon, at the UNGS in Argentina, and is currently a professor at the Catholic University of Quito, Ecuador. In addition to this book, his current research topics are neoliberal globalization in Latin America, and their socio-environmental impacts, and ecological economics. He is currently a member of the URPE Steering Committee and serves on the editorial boards of the following journals: Research in Political Economy, Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, and Revista Ensayos de Economía