Jessé Souza, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Paulo
Since the end of the 1990s, the so-called “left turn” has been gaining ground in Latin America, breaking with the “Washington Consensus” for two decades. On the basis of rising commodity prices and strong economic growth, social and labour policies were expanded and reshaped. While the West held on to its neo-liberal model and faced growing social and political distortions due to the financial crisis of 2008, poverty in Latin America was reduced by almost half. These achievements were accompanied by broad social mobilisation and in some cases complemented by new models of political participation. The region became more independent and gained international influence.