THE LEFT TURN IN L ATIN AMERICA Consequences for Employment Relations

Since 1999, left governments have taken power in ten Latin American countries: Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Paraguay, and El Salvador. By 2009, they governed more than two-thirds of the continent’s inhabitants, a state of affairs never before witnessed in the continent’s history (Levitsky and Roberts 2011a: 2). This ‘left turn’ (Castañeda 2006) has sparked considerable interest among scholars, particularly in regards to the effect of these governments on democratic governance and policy-making (Barrett et al. 2008; Cameron and Hershberg 2010; Levitsky and Roberts 2011c; Weyland et al. 2010). Th is chapter investigates what eff ects, if any, progressive governments have had on employment relations in Latin America. Employment relations are sets of rules, policies, and practices that structure interactions among employers (whether private or public) and employees. Of interest to many is how progressive governments have addressed the poverty, unemployment, and abuse that labourers routinely experience in Latin America. When it comes to protecting workers against poverty and unemployment, the canonical literature on employment relations is quite clear in its recommendations. Scholars favour systems of protection that pool risks throughout the economy. Th is is typically accomplished by universal, taxpayer-funded systems of unemployment, pensions, and sickness benefi ts. Another way to provide some protection to workers is through employment regulation—also referred to as employment protection legislation (EPL). EPL consists of rules concerning hiring and fi ring. Taking into account changes in the partisan composition of governments in the region, the chapter examines how left