The significant aspect of the big victory of the MAS in Bolivia was that this was achieved despite the absence of the former President Evo Morales who was ousted by a combined collaborator coup of military and Trump administration late last year and the continuous anti-MAS propaganda by the big corporate controlled media in both Bolivia and the neighbouring countries. The mandate was so sweeping that the right had to abandon its earlier plans for sabotage and conceded the defeat.

New President Arce is an economist by training and in his inaugural address he promised to establish his links with the other left wing forces and governments in Latin America and to fight the anti democratic moves by the right wing parties to devalue the constitutional rights. His tone was marked by confidence and an approach to unify the democratic forces in his country which were badly battered in the one year regime of the right wing president Jennine Anez who took instructions from Washington.

Arce is quite aware of the mammoth tasks of reconstruction of the battered economy and how the people are looking at him for rejuvenating the economy and improving the living standards of the underprivileged. The GDP of Bolivia is expected to dip by 11 per cent in 2020 due to pandemic and global slowdown. The unemployment in the construction sector which employs huge workforce, is now estimated at 30 percent. The MAS government has to deal with these pressing problems to generate confidence among the people about the viability of his leftwing revival programme.

In February next year, Presidential elections are due in Ecuador and it is expected that the left will win comfortably .After the victory of pro-left candidates in Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia, the Ecuador victory if it takes place, will have a catalytic effect on the developments in other countries of Latin America, especially Brazil and Chile.

In Chile, the Left has won a resounding victory in October 25 referendum for a new constitution and this victory signals the coming together of the democratic forces in Chile including both centrists and the left who are united for bringing a new constitution which calls for radical change in the laws of the land in favour of the common people.

Similarly in Brazil, the Workers Party led by former President Lula is in the thick of the struggle against the rightwing president Bolsonaro whose popularity has dipped to the lowest ebb while Lula, though in prison due to the machinations of the ruling government, is high in popular esteem. The movement for freeing Lula has reached its peak and this has got international support also. The Left in Brazil is now confident of getting Lula back as their leader as a free man soon and that will impart a new dimension to the battle of the Left against the present Bolsonaro regime.

The victory of the Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden by defeating Donald Trump in the November 3 elections, has also added to the confidence of the Left of Latin America in pursuing their goals. Even if Biden follows Obama policy in Latin America, that will be far more favourable to the Left that the course which Trump administration followed. Trump was a rabid anti left and his administration encouraged openly the rightwing groups and the military to be active against the left leaning governments. The US government agencies played role in both unseating the Brazilian president Dilma Roussef from her position and ousting Evo Morales from Bolivian Presidency.

The US companies working in oil and minerals sectors have big interests in the raw materials of Latin American countries and they play key role in determining the economic policies relevant to their area of operations. These companies which get full backing from the US administration and Pentagon, try to get pliant governments in the LA countries. That process has been continuing with some twists and turns.

Obama tried to mend fences with Cuba to some extent but Trump discontinued that process and went back to the old policies of full blockade. It will be important for Latin America to see how the foreign policy of Biden takes shape towards Latin America. Democratic Party is full of donors who do business in Latin America. Their pressure will be there on Biden administration to be tough with left and help the rightwing forces to dominate. The group of Bernie Sanders is strong in the Congress and Senate this time following 2020 elections. They are against any US interference in Latin America’s domestic politics. It is to be seen whether this Left group can have any impact on the foreign policy of new Biden administration.

In sum, the situation for the Left in Latin America is better compared to pre-2018 but earlier also, the Left had a dream run in the first decade of this century but that did not continue. In this third decade of the 21st century, there is another challenge to Left in Latin America. Much will depend on the capability of the leadership as also the intensity of the mass movements and the willingness of forming broader unity of anti-right forces. The Left has to seize this new opportunity for changing Latin American political landscape. (IPA Service)