Walden Bello: The pandemic gave the peoples the opportunity to end neoliberal governments

In the last century there have been political confrontations that spelled the beginning of a larger movement. Jesse Owens vs. Adolf Hitler, Rosa Parks vs. racial segregation, Fidel Castro vs. ten American presidents, Muhammad Ali vs. the establishment, Nelson Mandela vs. apartheid … Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, the world is approaching an unprecedented battle that may mark a new course: the left vs. the extreme right, including South America.

The last statement belongs to Walden Bello, a Filipino sociologist and academic, author of numerous books. Among them, «Deglobalization: ideas for a new world economy» stands out. In 2003 he received the Right Livelihood Prize – called the Alternative Nobel Prize – for his contribution to «building a civil conscience against globalization».

In an interview with Página 12, Bello exposes that the post-COVID-19 era may mark the end of neoliberal or capitalist governments. Both offered a ‘feeling’ of economic stability, but were unable to face the pandemic and ensure the collective well-being. Therefore, he believes that they are not prepared to meet social expectations in the face of the «great economic crisis» looming on the horizon.

“The pandemic emerged in the midst of an already destabilized global economic system that was suffering a deep crisis of legitimacy. So people had the feeling that things were really out of control. Anger, frustration and the feeling that the elites and the ruling powers lost control, that the system went to hell, is widespread today».

Why the left and the extreme right?

In both hemispheres, citizen protest was present. For example, in France the Yellow Vests and in Germany the “Nazionalists”. In Italy, the extreme right of Matteo Salvini and in Spain, the extreme right of Vox. Meanwhile, in the United States thousands of environmentalists, defenders of civil rights and nationalists. In South America, social, indigenous and student movements activated hundreds of protests in countries such as Ecuador, Chile and Brazil in 2019.

“There are too many feelings of anger, insecurity and resentment unleashed. Only the left and the extreme right are in a position to take advantage of this subjective storm. So yes, the drive is towards a post-capitalist or, in any case, post-neoliberal system. But the key question is who will be able to harness all that unleashed anger and redirect it?»

Who starts with an advantage, according to Bello

In Bello’s opinion, «the extreme right is better positioned to take advantage of global discontent». He remembers that since before COVID-19, its parties were already visible in anti-neoliberal programs promoted by the left. He even claims that ideas were even stolen from the left and raised as their own. «Sure, just for the benefit of people with the ‘correct skin color’, the ‘correct culture’, the ‘correct ethnic population’, the ‘correct religion’.

Bello warns that the main stumbling block on the left is that they have “great ideas, but a poverty of political strategies. They also lack effective unifying leaders (…) They have yet to find a massive base and part of the problem lies in the fact that many people associate the left with the Social Democrats in Europe, or with the Democratic Party in the United States”, which does not have, not even the shadow of the left.

Europe warns of a dramatic decline

In consideration of Walden Bello’s approaches, it is necessary to know, in practice, what the panorama looks like in the main capitalist republics of Europe and America:

• In Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is gaining strength year after year. It does so – especially – in areas close to the Nazi concentration camps, according to a study in the journal Research & Politics. Furthermore, a Europa Press poll revealed that 48% of the population believe that the AfD will be part of governments at the state or federal level in the next 10 years.
• In Italy, the former Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, is the leader of the xenophobic Northern League party. He has openly called for demonstrations in the middle of the quarantine, with support from the far-right party Fratelli d’Italia. They denounce that the coronavirus – Italy was the second world epicenter – is the fault of «migration from Africa» that they have been criticizing for years before, and that the Government has ignored these ‘warnings’.
• In France, Marine Le Pen is the leader of the far-right Agrupación Nacional (AN). She takes advantage of the general panic to charge against her two main enemies: immigrants and the European Union. Recently, she won 40% of the workers’ voters who participated in the European elections. At the other extreme, is the revolution of the Yellow Vests, which demands social rights from President Emmanuel Macron since 2019.

• In Spain, the “revolt of the pots” is promoted by the extremists of Vox and Spain 2000. It takes advantage of the crisis to demand the dissolution of the “socialist” government. They even support and encourage the relatives of more than three thousand deaths from coronavirus, who are suing the head of Government, Pedro Sánchez, for «homicide».

The challenges in Europe and the United States

Additionally, according to forecasts by the European Commission, the economy of the European Union will register the largest contraction in its history. A 7.4% drop in the bloc’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated, and a 7.7% drop in the Eurozone’s GDP. Therefore, the economy is its main post-pandemic challenge.

In the United States, despite social protests, Joe Biden faces the health disaster left by Donald Trump. The tycoon let the country become the global epicenter of COVID-19. To date, they register more than 25 million infected and 428 thousand deaths. To do this, he must make Trump’s xenophobic and racist speech disappear, which for four years fueled hatred against Chinese, Muslims, Russians, Cubans and Venezuelans.

Golden opportunity in South America

In South America is where the left wing movement starts off with better options. After more than a decade of social demands and economic recovery thanks to leftist governments in Ecuador, Chile, Brazil and Bolivia; The extreme confidence of those governments – in one way or another – allowed the return of the extreme right to power with Lenín Moreno, Sebastián Piñera and Jair Bolsonaro.

The result was an accelerated indebtedness of those nations. Many benefits and socioeconomic achievements won during the left-wing mandates were also lost. Now, the peoples must take advantage of the popular explosion that was unleashed prior to the pandemic, together with the unfortunate balance left by COVID-19. It is at this time that they must work to regain popular confidence and win in the electoral scene.

Faced with this global reality, the Filipino Walden Bello defines the political dilemma that peoples face today. “It is a race between a progressive deglobalization (left) and a regressive, nationalist (extreme right). If the former win, ‘the best will be better’, but if the latter win, ‘the worst will be worse’ «.

“It is important to ensure that the left leads these struggles. It is necessary to avoid that the right wing ‘kidnaps’ and perverts these energies that spring up from below for its authoritarian and opportunistic agenda. This is what they have already done in Europe and the United States ”, concluded Bello.

So in the post-COVID-19 era a big question arises. Will the left be able to start a bigger movement, like Owens, Parks, Fidel, Ali and Mandela did?

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