MACMILLAN The Brazilian Left in the 21st Century: Conflict and Conciliation in Peripheral Capitalism (Marx, Engels, and Marxisms)

This book aims to reconstruct the role played by left movements and organizations in Brazil from their process of renewal in the 1980s as they fought against the civil-military dictatorship, going through the Workers' Party's governments in the 2000s, until the Party’s dramatic defeat with a parliamentary coup in 2016. Henceforth, there have been attacks on social and political rights that severely affect the lower classes and reverted progressive policies on various issues. Through a historical reconstruction, this book analyzes how different left movements and organizations contributed to the democratization of Brazilian society, and how their contradictions contributed to the actual conservative turn. The essays also focus the development of Brazilian Left in the light of socialist politics and especially Marxism, both in terms of political organizations and theory. In this sense, the essays in this collection represent an effort to rethink some aspects of the history of the Brazilian left and how it can reorganize itself after the conservative turn. Review “This volume offers a superb critical assessment of past triumphs and failures of the Brazilian Left. It is a must-read to whoever is committed to struggling against social inequality, racism, sexism, and homophobia anywhere.” (Sidney Chalhoub, Professor of History and of African and African American Studies, Harvard Univesity, USA) “An outstanding examination of the achievements, trials, and limitations of the Brazilian left from the origins of the Workers’ Party to the downfall of Lula and Dilma Rousseff. This book is indispensable reading for scholars and students of Brazil.” (Alfredo Saad-Filho, Professor of Political Economy, SOAS, University of London, UK) From the Back Cover This book aims to reconstruct the role played by left movements and organizations in Brazil from their process of renewal in the 1980s as they fought against the civil-military dictatorship, going through the Workers' Party's governments in the 2000s, until the Party’s dramatic defeat with a parliamentary coup in 2016. Henceforth, there have been attacks on social and political rights that severely affect the lower classes and reverted progressive policies on various issues. Through a historical reconstruction, this book analyzes how different left movements and organizations contributed to the democratization of Brazilian society, and how their contradictions contributed to the actual conservative turn. The essays also focus the development of Brazilian Left in the light of socialist politics and especially Marxism, both in terms of political organizations and theory. In this sense, the essays in this collection represent an effort to rethink some aspects of the history of the Brazilian left and how it can reorganize itself after the conservative turn. About the Author Luis Felipe Miguel, Full Professor in the Political Science Institute at the University of Brasília, Brazil, where he leads the Research Group on Democracy and Inequalities. Vladimir Puzone is Research Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Brasília, Brazil. He is the author of the book Capitalismo perene: reflexões sobre a estabilização do capitalismo a partir de Lukács e da teoria crítica (Perennial capitalism: reflections on the stabilization of capitalism in Lukács and Critical Theory, 2016).