Right Governments and Social Policy Reform in Latin America

Southern Europe and Latin America share a Bismarckian origin of their welfare states. However, Latin America’s “left turn” since the late 1990s expanded cash transfers and public services, contributing to lower poverty and inequality, and putting the region in a more "Basic Universal" direction than ever before. Recently, right-leaning candidates and parties have begun to win back seats in the legislature, and in some cases have captured the executive branch. This shift has sparked debate about the future of Latin America’s welfare states. This article analyzes social policy reforms enacted by two recent right-leaning governments: that of Sebastián Piñera in Chile (2010–14) and Mauricio Macri in Argentina (2015–). It finds that contrary to neoliberal adjustment policies of the past, neither Macri nor Piñera engaged in privatization or deep spending cuts. Instead, both administrations facilitated a process of policy drift in some sectors and marginal expansion in others. This more complex and gradual forms of retrenchment put Latin American countries closer to the European experience, where outright rollbacks have been the exception. Policy legacies and the strength of the opposition help to explain these outcomes, suggesting that Latin America’s political context has been transformed by the consolidation of democracy and the experience of left party rule.