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Social Policy, Inequalities and the Battle of Rights in Latin America
Author(s) -
Riggirozzi Pia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
development and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-7660
pISSN - 0012-155X
DOI - 10.1111/dech.12571
Subject(s) - redress , cash transfers , latin americans , social protection , redistribution (election) , poverty , politics , political science , political economy , welfare , inequality , development economics , sociology , economics , law , mathematical analysis , mathematics
Targeted social policies and other more universal forms of social protection have shaped (the shifts in) the politics of popular support in Latin America. Since the early 2000s this has led to a tendency towards the election of left‐leaning governments, stimulating stronger political pressure for more extensive redistribution. Yet despite a wide range of cash transfers, subsidies and other social policies, the ‘post‐neoliberal’ ideal of welfare did not reshape the political and relational powers of citizens in the ways necessary to redress the structural determinants of poverty and inequality across the region. This article reveals a ‘dark side’ of social policy in Latin America, arguing that targeted and precariously funded welfare regimes are creating tensions between the socio‐economic and ecological spheres that undermine inclusive citizenship and democracy.