Midterm Essay Pink Tide - 1812 Words

POL305Y Midterm Essay: Pink Tide Student Name: Nafis Khan Student Number: 999 737 263 Course Code: POL305Y In the late 1990 s, Latin America was facing a turn towards left-wing governments as they started drifting away from neoliberalism. This was coined as the Pink Tide of Latin America which took place from around 1998 until around 2009. The origins of the term came from a New York Times reporter who commented that the election of the Uruguayan Leader was â€Å"not so much a red tide but more of a pink one† (Pittsburgh n.d.). A red tide symbolizes communism whereas a pink one leans towards a moderate reign of communism with the integration of socialist ideas. Countries in Latin America turned to neo-liberal policies â€Å"which privatized public companies, cut foreign investment, public spending, etc† (Arditi 64). These were prompted by such organizations as the â€Å"International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank which referred to the actions as the Washington Consensus † (Arditi 67-68). The Pink Tide â€Å"rejected privatization of state services and l iberalized international trade† (Arditi 72). In other words, this push by domestic resistance from Latin American governments created the Pink Tide via rejecting the Washington Consensus. Since then, it seems that the Pink Tide is receding due to the rise of center-right to right opposition members. Moreover, the factors that triggered the Pink Tide has since diminished. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that there will be any