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Limits and Ambiguities of Social Policy under Neoliberalism in Latin America
The Cases of Brazil and Argentina
Series: - Studies in Critical Social Sciences, Volume: 341/36
- New Scholarship in Political Economy, Volume: 341/36
Author:
In todayâs Latin America, social policy is a battleground. At stake is not just poverty relief, but the very meaning of citizenship and whether transformation is still possible in times of austerity and conservative backlash.
This book investigates the evolution of poverty reduction strategies in Brazil and Argentina over the past two decades, focusing on programmes like Bolsa FamÃlia and Asignación Universal por Hijo. Through a critical and comparative lens, it reveals how political agendas, institutional legacies, and economic crises have shapedâand underminedâsocial protection systems. It reveals the dilemmas faced by social policy in times of democratic erosion, economic crisis, and rising inequality across the Latin American region.
This book investigates the evolution of poverty reduction strategies in Brazil and Argentina over the past two decades, focusing on programmes like Bolsa FamÃlia and Asignación Universal por Hijo. Through a critical and comparative lens, it reveals how political agendas, institutional legacies, and economic crises have shapedâand underminedâsocial protection systems. It reveals the dilemmas faced by social policy in times of democratic erosion, economic crisis, and rising inequality across the Latin American region.
Fabiana de Oliveira, Ph.D. (2019), University of São Paulo, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at Paulista University (UNIP) and a Post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Geography of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (IGEOG/UERJ). She has published many articles, books and bookâs chapters on contemporary Latin American politics and regional governance.
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Introduction
1 Poverty and Social Inequality in Latin America
â1.1âTheoretical Perspectives on Poverty and Inequality
â1.2âMethodologies for Measuring Poverty and Inequality
2 The Geographic, Ethic, and Gender Dimensions of Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
â2.1âRural Poverty in Latin America
â2.2âPoverty and Ethno-Racial Inequalities in Latin America
â2.3âGender Dynamics in Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
3 Social Protection and Poverty Reduction Policies: The Early Development of Welfare Regimes in Argentina and Brazil
â3.1âThe Evolution of the Welfare State Debate
â3.2âBuilding an Emerging Welfare State in Brazil: Public Policies to Address Poverty under Neoliberalism
â3.3âNeoliberalism and the Erosion of the Argentine Welfare State Since 1976
â3.4âThe Rise of Targeted Social Policies in Argentina
4 Social Policy in Argentina from Kirchner to Milei: Between Welfare State Construction and Neoliberal Rollback
â4.1âThe Kirchnerist Decade: Néstor and Cristina Kirchnerâs Administrations
â4.2âThe Government of Mauricio Macri and Argentinaâs Shift to the Right
â4.4âThe Government of Javier Milei: Authoritarian Populism and Economic Ultraliberalism
5 Ideological Disputes and the Cycles of Expansion and Retraction of Social Policy in Brazil from 2003 to 2024
â5.1âSocial Policies in Lulaâs Government: Between Focalisation and the Consolidation of Social Protection
â5.2âDilma Rousseffâs Government: Advances, Limits, and the Crisis of a Political Cycle
â5.3âReforms and Instability in Michel Temerâs Government
â5.4âJair Bolsonaroâs Government and the Dismantling of the Brazilian State
â5.5âLula da Silvaâs Return to Power: Challenges and the Reconstruction of a Polarised Brazil
Final Remarks
References
Index
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Introduction
1 Poverty and Social Inequality in Latin America
â1.1âTheoretical Perspectives on Poverty and Inequality
â1.2âMethodologies for Measuring Poverty and Inequality
2 The Geographic, Ethic, and Gender Dimensions of Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
â2.1âRural Poverty in Latin America
â2.2âPoverty and Ethno-Racial Inequalities in Latin America
â2.3âGender Dynamics in Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
3 Social Protection and Poverty Reduction Policies: The Early Development of Welfare Regimes in Argentina and Brazil
â3.1âThe Evolution of the Welfare State Debate
â3.2âBuilding an Emerging Welfare State in Brazil: Public Policies to Address Poverty under Neoliberalism
â3.3âNeoliberalism and the Erosion of the Argentine Welfare State Since 1976
â3.4âThe Rise of Targeted Social Policies in Argentina
4 Social Policy in Argentina from Kirchner to Milei: Between Welfare State Construction and Neoliberal Rollback
â4.1âThe Kirchnerist Decade: Néstor and Cristina Kirchnerâs Administrations
â4.2âThe Government of Mauricio Macri and Argentinaâs Shift to the Right
â4.4âThe Government of Javier Milei: Authoritarian Populism and Economic Ultraliberalism
5 Ideological Disputes and the Cycles of Expansion and Retraction of Social Policy in Brazil from 2003 to 2024
â5.1âSocial Policies in Lulaâs Government: Between Focalisation and the Consolidation of Social Protection
â5.2âDilma Rousseffâs Government: Advances, Limits, and the Crisis of a Political Cycle
â5.3âReforms and Instability in Michel Temerâs Government
â5.4âJair Bolsonaroâs Government and the Dismantling of the Brazilian State
â5.5âLula da Silvaâs Return to Power: Challenges and the Reconstruction of a Polarised Brazil
Final Remarks
References
Index
This book is especially relevant to scholars, postgraduate students, and libraries in Latin American studies, political science, sociology, social policy and development studies.