Brazil's Landless and the Revolt against Neo-liberalism

Ever since the "Caracazo", the 1989 popular uprising in Venezuela against the implementation of a structural adjustment program, Latin America has seen widespread resistance to the austerity measures and conservative economic policies known as "neo-liberalism". The election in 2002 of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil can be seen as part of this trend, a strong popular reaction against the neo-liberal policies advocated by Brazilian elites and supported by Washington and global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank. It was also an indication of a movement away from traditional authoritarian politics and minimal popular engagement to new forms of democratic participation. In Brazil, the masses have consistently mobilized through the Movement of Landless Rural Labourers and other popular organizations, have won a few changes, but have not been able to turn national policy in the more radical direction they desire.