Now We Are in Power: The Politics of Passive Revolution, Twenty-first Century Bolivia(Pitt Latin American Series)

During the first decade of the century, Evo Morales and other leftists took control of governments across Latin America. In the case of Bolivia, Morales was that country’s first Indigenous president and was elected following five years of popular insurrection after decades of neoliberal governance. Now We Are in Power makes the argument that the so-called Pink Tide should be understood as a passive revolution, a process that has two phases: a period of subaltern struggle from average citizens strong enough to culminate in a political crisis, which is followed by a time of reconciliation and transformation. Angus McNelly examines this movement as it unfolded and evaluates how passive revolution plays out over a prolonged crisis, ultimately demonstrating the inherent contradictions and complications of the process.

About the Author :
Angus McNelly is assistant professor in international relations at the University of Greenwich, London. His research explores the politics of change, the political economy of Latin America, extractivism, and energy transitions. He is a managing editor of the journal Alternautas, an editor of the Latin American Geographies UK Blog, and co-coordinator of the Urban and Regional Political Economy Group in the International Initiative for the Promotion of Political Economy.

Review :
A strength of this volume is that McNelly deeply engages with the discussions happening within Bolivia by Bolivian intellectuals and is able to draw comparisons with other Latin American countries. He brings a broad understanding of the region to his analysis. McNelly offers us an important inventory of the contradictions of one of the most important experiences of popular government in Latin America, making it an essential reading not only for those interested in learning about the Bolivian reality but also for reflecting on the limits and possibilities of these experiences in promoting a critique and self-critique for future processes of counter-hegemony. Both experts and new progressive thinkers will gain insight from McNelly’s analysis of how radical visions confront complex 21st century realities. Now We Are in Power offers new insights into the government of Evo Morales and ongoing struggles for change in Bolivia. With original material and theoretical innovation rooted in Gramsci and Zavaleta, McNelly explores the achievements and limits of ‘passive revolution.’ A must-read for activists, students, and scholars of radical politics in Bolivia and Latin America. McNelly offers a careful study of Bolivia during the thirteen years of MAS government. Now We Are in Power offers an excellent interdisciplinary analysis of the structures and events that have shaped recent Bolivian history. The book takes us from early neoliberal reforms in the 1980s through the water and gas wars of the early 2000s, to Evo Morales’s election to the presidency and his years as president, and finally to the violent crisis that drove him from office in 2019. Throughout, the book sheds important light on some of the most crucial questions about contemporary Bolivian politics and society, including how the unique characteristics of Morales as a leader both constrained and enabled dramatic political change.