Globalization and the Left in Latin America∗

In recent decades, Latin American countries have increased their exposure to the world economy at the same time they reduced the size of the public sector. At the end of this period, the electoral left experienced dramatic successes, controlling, as of 2009, the presidency in 11 of 18 countries in the region, which together account for 65 % of the region’s total population. I offer evidence that these trends are not unrelated: globalization and reductions in the public sector have helped the left at the ballot box. The left’s successes are frequently interpreted as a backlash against globalization. Yet I show that, once in office, the left has increased public spending but it has not retreated from the world economy. Hence, rather than a backlash, the rise of the left represents a push toward the re-equilibration of Latin American political economies toward larger states that insure against exposure to world markets.