ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I develop two concepts. The first is the concept of postcapitalist struggles, used to better understand the wave of social movements that emerged in the region in the 1980s and continues today. I focus on three aspects of these movements which distinguish them from others in Latin America history: radical democratic participation, transformative demands and political ambiguity. Second is the concept of neo structuralist bargain, used to describe the relationship between postcapitalist struggles and the pink tide, namely one in which governments grant small material gains to marginalized sectors, but close avenues to more meaningful democratic participation by popular sectors. I outline how this relationship differs from that found in previous phases of Latin American development. Finally, I make the case for the need to conceptualize a “new democratic road to socialism” that can go beyond the limitations of the neo-structuralist bargain.
