ABSTRACT
Neo-liberal regimes were put on the defensive, creating conditions that the political left saw as an opportunity for achieving state power, which they did in a number of countries in South America. This chapter examines the changing dynamics of this struggle in the context of Argentina. It reviews developments associated with the 'progressive' regime of the Kirchners established in conditions of economic crisis that spelled the end of the neo-liberal policy agenda. The chapter also reviews some salient features of the presidential elections that spelled the end of the Kirchner regime. Lavagna's position was in the direction of moderating the expansion of public spending and containing wage increases. Working-class organizations and the labour movement at the time were still recovering from a murderous decade of military rule. The chapter provides some examples and detail to illustrate what, at the time of writing, was already a general pattern after barely 100 days of the Mauricio Macri regime.
