ALBA: Creating a Regional Alternative to Neo-liberalism?

[Shawn Hattingh argues that the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America (ALBA) offers real possibilities for future widespread alternatives to the current neo-liberal system.  This means that ALBA is of great symbolic value. It shows that there is an alternative to neo-liberalism, which the governments of the South -- including those in Asia and Africa -- could embark upon.]
Conclusion of the 6th ALBA Summit in Caracas, January 2008. Credit: Telesur

ALBA: Creating a Regional Alternative to Neo-liberalism?

                                     

      February 13th 2008, by Shawn Hattingh

Latin America was the first place where the US imposed the most callous economic system ever seen: neo-liberal capitalism.  Starting in Chile in 1973, the US used its power, along with its control over the IMF and the World Bank, to force governments across Latin America to adopt neo-liberal economic policies.  This has seen Latin American countries embrace trade liberalization, financial liberalization, privatization, and labor market flexibility.  Of course, US multinationals benefited from this.  They have snapped up ex-state owned assets throughout Latin America at bargain basement prices.  With the reduction of tariffs and the advent of "free" trade, US multinationals have also flooded Latin America with cheap exports. This has seen US multinationals making massive profits.  The people of Latin America have paid for this.  Since the advent of neo-liberalism, inequality in Latin America has grown, and millions of people have lost their jobs along with their access to healthcare and education.¹

Recently, however, a wind of change has been blowing across Latin America. Starting with anti-IMF riots in Caracas in 1989, and the rise of the Zapatistas in the early 1990s, people in Latin America have started resisting neo-liberalism and US domination.  Within the last few years, a number of progressive leaders -- for example, Chavez in Venezuela, Morales in Bolivia, and Correa in Ecuador -- have come to power on the back of this resistance.  For these governments, breaking with neo-liberalism has been a priority.² Perhaps the most important initiative for that has been the creation of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).  Indeed, ALBA is aimed at striking a major blow against US hegemony, the IMF, the World Bank, "free" trade, and neo-liberalism in general.

ALBA as an Alternative to "Free" Trade

Since the late 1990s, the US has been trying to secure a regional "free" trade agreement with Latin American countries, known as the Free Trade Area for the Americas (FTAA).  In 2001, under the Chavez government's leadership, a number of Latin American states, trade unions, and social movements successfully banded together to block the FTAA.  With this, the US state and its corporate allies' hopes were smashed.  However, the Chavez government was not satisfied with blocking the FTAA -- it wanted to create a viable regional alternative to "free" trade.  Under Venezuela's leadership, ALBA was born in late 2004.

Initially, ALBA consisted of only two member states: Venezuela and Cuba.  When the benefits of ALBA became evident, however, other states joined.  At present, there are four full member states of ALBA: Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.  There are four observer states in ALBA -- Ecuador, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, and St. Kitts³ -- who will become full members in the near future.⁴

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