Editing Neoliberalism (section)

=== Latin America ===
In the 1980s, numerous governments in Latin America adopted neoliberal policies.<ref>{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Kingstone |title=The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again?) of Neoliberalism in Latin America |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] Ltd |date=2018 |isbn=}}</ref><ref name="Otero 2012 pp. 282–294">{{cite journal |last=Otero |first=Gerardo |title=The neoliberal food regime in Latin America: state, agribusiness transnational corporations and biotechnology |journal=Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d'études du développement |publisher=Informa UK Limited |volume=33 |issue=3 |year=2012 |issn=0225-5189 |doi=10.1080/02255189.2012.711747 |pages=282–294 |s2cid=59042471 |oclc=4912306096}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Ben Ross |last=Schneider |chapter=The material bases of technocracy: Investor confidence and neoliberalism in Latin America |title=The politics of expertise in Latin America |editor1-first=Miguel A. |editor1-last=Centeno |editor2-first=Patricio |editor2-last=Silva |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |date=1998 |pages=77–95 |url=https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780312210267 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102140153/https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780312210267 |archive-date=November 2, 2019}}</ref>

==== Chile ====
{{further|Crisis of 1982|Miracle of Chile|2019–2021 Chilean protests}}
Chile was among the earliest nations to implement neoliberal reform. [[Marxism|Marxist]] economic geographer [[David Harvey]] has described the substantial neoliberal reforms in Chile beginning in the 1970s as "the first experiment with neoliberal state formation", which would provide "helpful evidence to support the subsequent turn to neoliberalism in both Britain... and the United States."{{sfnp|Harvey|2005|p=}} Similarly, [[Vincent Bevins]] says that Chile under [[Augusto Pinochet]] "became the world's first test case for 'neoliberal' economics."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bevins |first1=Vincent |author1-link=Vincent Bevins |title=[[The Jakarta Method|The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World]] |date=2020 |publisher=[[PublicAffairs]] |page=207 |isbn=978-1541742406}}</ref>

The turn to neoliberal policies in Chile originated with the [[Chicago Boys]], a select group of Chilean students who, beginning in 1955, were invited to the [[University of Chicago]] to pursue postgraduate studies in economics. They studied directly under [[Milton Friedman]] and his disciple, [[Arnold Harberger]], and were exposed to [[Friedrich Hayek]]. Upon their return to Chile, their neoliberal policy proposals—which centered on widespread [[deregulation]], [[privatization]], reductions to government spending to counter high inflation, and other free-market policies<ref>{{cite news |last1=Opazo |first1=Tania |title=The Boys Who Got to Remake an Economy |url=https://slate.com/business/2016/01/in-chicago-boys-the-story-of-chilean-economists-who-studied-in-america-and-then-remade-their-country.html |access-date=July 6, 2019 |publisher=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=January 12, 2016}}</ref>—would remain largely on the fringes of Chilean economic and political thought for a number of years, as the [[presidency of Salvador Allende]] (1970–1973) brought about a [[socialist]] reorientation of the economy.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907929,00.html |title=CHILE: The Bloody End of a Marxist Dream |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925065855/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907929,00.html |archive-date=September 25, 2008 |quote=....Allende's downfall had implications that reached far beyond the borders of Chile. His had been the first democratically elected Marxist government in Latin America...}}</ref>

[[File:Economic growth of Chile.PNG|thumb|upright=1.15 |Chilean (orange) and average Latin American (blue) rates of growth of [[GDP]] (1971–2007)]]

During the Allende presidency, Chile experienced a severe economic crisis, in which inflation peaked near 150%.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/63821.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |title=Pinochet's rule: Repression and economic success |date=January 7, 2001 |access-date=May 12, 2010}}</ref> Following an extended period of social unrest and political tension, as well as diplomatic, economic, and covert pressure from the [[United States]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8i.htm |title=Chile and the United States: Declassified Documents Relating to the Military Coup, September 11, 1973 |first=Peter |last=Kornbluh}}</ref> the Chilean armed forces and national police overthrew the Allende government in a [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|coup d'état]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1211/p00s01-woam.html |title=Controversial legacy of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet |quote=...Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who overthrew Chile's democratically elected Communist government in a 1973 coup ... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516194106/http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1211/p00s01-woam.html |archive-date=May 16, 2008 |magazine=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=December 11, 2006}}</ref> They established a repressive [[military junta|military ''junta'']], known for its violent [[Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet|suppression of opposition]], and appointed army chief Augusto Pinochet Supreme Head of the nation.<ref>{{cite book |first=Genaro Arriagada |last=Herrera |title=Pinochet: The Politics of Power |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7F8VAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA36 |year=1988 |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |isbn=978-0-04-497061-3 |page=36 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> His rule was later given legal legitimacy through a controversial [[1980 Chilean constitutional referendum|1980 plebiscite]], which approved a new [[Chilean Constitution of 1980|constitution]] drafted by a government-appointed commission that ensured Pinochet would remain as president for a further eight years—with increased powers—after which he would face a re-election referendum.<ref name=Brit-Pinochet-Regime>{{cite web |last1=Drake |first1=Paul W. |last2=Johnson |first2=John J. |last3=Caviedes |first3=César N. |last4=Carmagnani |first4=Marcello A. |title=The military dictatorship, from 1973 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Chile/The-military-dictatorship-from-1973 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=July 11, 2019}}</ref>

The Chicago Boys were given significant political influence within the [[Military government of Chile (1973–1990)|military dictatorship]], and they implemented [[Economic history of Chile#Neoliberal reforms (1973–1990)|sweeping economic reform]]. In contrast to the extensive [[nationalization]] and centrally planned economic programs supported by Allende, the Chicago Boys implemented rapid and extensive privatization of state enterprises, deregulation, and significant reductions in trade barriers during the latter half of the 1970s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Explainer: Chile's 'Chicago Boys,' a model for Brazil now? |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-chicagoboys-explainer/explainer-chiles-chicago-boys-a-model-for-brazil-now-idUSKCN1OY1OU |access-date=July 6, 2019 |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=January 4, 2019}}</ref> In 1978, policies that would further reduce the role of the state and infuse competition and individualism into areas such as labor relations, pensions, health and education were introduced.{{sfnp|Boas|Gans-Morse|2009}} Additionally, the central bank raised interest rates from 49.9% to 178% to counter high inflation.<ref>{{cite book |first=Anil |last=Hira |title=Ideas and Economic Policy in Latin America |publisher=Praeger Publishers |date=1998 |isbn=0-275-96269-5 |page=81}}</ref>

[[File:Panfleto Tercera Jornada Protesta Nacional.jpg|thumb|left |Pamphlet calling for [[Jornadas de Protesta Nacional|a protest]] of economic policy in 1983 following [[Crisis of 1982|the economic crisis]]<ref name=salazar2>{{cite book |title=Historia contemporánea de Chile III. La economía: mercados empresarios y trabajadores |language=es |trans-title=Contemporary history of Chile III. The economy: business and worker markets |date=2002 |first1=Gabriel |last1=Salazar |author1-link=Gabriel Salazar |first2=Julio |last2=Pinto |author2-link=Julio Pinto |pages=49–62}}</ref><ref name="kas.de">{{cite web |publisher=[[Konrad Adenauer Foundation]] |first1=Helmut |last1=Wittelsbürger |first2=Albrecht von |last2=Hoff |url=http://www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_4084-544-1-30.pdf?040415182627 |title=Chile's Way to the Social Market Economy}}</ref>]]

These policies amounted to a [[Shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]], which rapidly transformed Chile from an economy with a protected market and strong government intervention into a liberalized, world-integrated economy, where market forces were left free to guide most of the economy's decisions.<ref name="K. Remmer 1998 5-55">{{cite journal |first=K. |last=Remmer |year=1979 |title=Public Policy and Regime Consolidation: The First Five Years of the Chilean Junta |journal=Journal of the Developing Areas |pages=441–461}}</ref> Inflation was tempered, falling from over 600% in 1974, to below 50% by 1979, to below 10% right before the [[Crisis of 1982|economic crisis of 1982]];<ref name="World Bank-2019">{{cite web |title=Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.DEFL.KD.ZG?locations=CL |website=[[World Bank]] |access-date=July 8, 2019}}</ref> GDP growth spiked (see chart) to 10%.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=CL |title=GDP Growth (annual %) |website=[[World Bank]] |access-date=July 7, 2019}}</ref> however, inequality widened as wages and benefits to the working class were reduced.<ref name="Winn-2004">{{Cite book |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Winn |editor-link=Peter Winn |url=https://www.dukeupress.edu/Victims-of-the-Chilean-Miracle/ |title=Victims of the Chilean Miracle: Workers and Neoliberalism in the Pinochet Era, 1973–2002 |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |date=2004 |isbn=082233321X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Pamela |last1=Constable |author-link=Pamela Constable |first2=Arturo |last2=Valenzuela |author2-link=Arturo Valenzuela |title=A Nation of Enemies: Chile Under Pinochet |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |date=1993 |isbn=0393309851 |page=219}}</ref>

In 1982, Chile again experienced a [[Crisis of 1982|severe economic recession]]. The cause of this is contested but most scholars believe the [[Latin American debt crisis]]—which swept nearly all of Latin America into financial crisis—was a primary cause.<ref name="salazar23">''Historia contemporánea de Chile III. La economía: mercados empresarios y trabajadores''. 2002. [[Gabriel Salazar]] and [[Julio Pinto]]. pp. 49–-62.</ref> Some scholars argue the neoliberal policies of the Chicago boys heightened the crisis (for instance, percent GDP decrease was higher than in any other Latin American country) or even caused it;<ref name="salazar23"/> for instance, some scholars criticize the high interest rates of the period which—while stabilizing inflation—hampered investment and contributed to widespread bankruptcy in the banking industry. Other scholars fault governmental departures from the neoliberal [[Political agenda|agenda]]; for instance, the government pegged the Chilean peso to the US dollar, against the wishes of the Chicago Boys, which economists believe led to an overvalued peso.<ref name="The Political Economy of Unilateral Trade Liberalization">{{cite journal |year=1990 |title=The Political Economy of Unilateral Trade Liberalization |url=http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/sebastian.edwards/W6510.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040730125426/http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/sebastian.edwards/W6510.pdf |archive-date=July 30, 2004 |url-status=live |journal=[[UCLA]] |access-date=December 6, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Two Lucky People2">{{cite book |year=1998 |title=Two Lucky People |url=https://archive.org/details/twoluckypeopleme00frie |url-access=registration |quote=sergio de castro. |access-date=April 8, 2011 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=9780226264158 |last1=Friedman |first1=Milton |author1-link=Milton Friedman |last2=Friedman |first2=Rose D.}}</ref>

[[File:Unemployment Chile.png|thumb|upright=1.15 |Unemployment in Chile and South America (1980–1990)]]

After the recession, Chilean economic growth rose quickly, eventually hovering between 5% and 10% and significantly outpacing the Latin American average (see chart). Additionally, unemployment decreased<ref>{{cite web |title=Unemployment Rate: Aged 15 and Over: All Persons for Chile |url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LRUNTTTTCLA156N |website=FRED |date=January 1986 |publisher=Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development |access-date=July 8, 2019}}</ref> and the percent of the population below the poverty line declined from 50% in 1984 to 34% by 1989.<ref name=Hoover-ChicagoBoys>{{Cite news |url=https://www.hoover.org/research/what-pinochet-did-chile |title=What Pinochet Did for Chile |last1=Packenham |first1=Robert A. |date=January 30, 2007 |work=[[Hoover Institution]] |access-date=July 7, 2019 |last2=Ratliff |first2=William}}</ref> This led [[Milton Friedman]] to call the period the "[[Miracle of Chile]]", and he attributed the successes to the neoliberal policies of the Chicago boys. Some scholars attribute the successes to the re-regulation of the banking industry and a number of targeted social programs designed to alleviate poverty.<ref name=Hoover-ChicagoBoys/> Others say that while the economy had stabilized and was growing by the late 1980s, inequality widened: nearly 45% of the population had fallen into poverty while the wealthiest 10% had seen their incomes rise by 83%.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Naomi Klein |last=Klein |first=Naomi |date=2008 |title=[[The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism]] |publisher=[[Picador (imprint)|Picador]] |isbn=978-0312427993 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PwHUAq5LPOQC&pg=PA105 105]}}</ref> According to Chilean economist [[Alejandro Foxley]], when Pinochet finished his 17-year term by 1990, around 44% of Chilean families were living below the poverty line.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hojman |first=David E. |date=1996 |title=Poverty and Inequality in Chile: Are Democratic Politics and Neoliberal Economics Good for You? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/166361 |journal=Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs |volume=38 |issue=2/3 |pages=73–96 |doi=10.2307/166361 |jstor=166361 |issn=0022-1937}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitext/int_alejandrofoxley.html#2 |title=PBS Interview with Alejandro Foxley conducted March 26, 2001 |work=[[The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy]] |access-date=December 4, 2014}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=August 2022}}

Despite years of suppression by the Pinochet junta, a presidential election was held in 1988, as dictated by the 1980 constitution (though not without Pinochet first holding another plebiscite in an attempt to amend the constitution).<ref name=Brit-Pinochet-Regime/> In 1990, [[Patricio Aylwin]] was democratically elected, bringing an end to the military dictatorship. The reasons cited for Pinochet's acceptance of democratic transition are numerous. Hayek, echoing arguments he had made years earlier in ''[[The Road to Serfdom]],''<ref name="Chicago Press 1944 p.95">{{cite book |first=Friedrich |last=Hayek |author-link=Friedrich Hayek |title=[[The Road to Serfdom]] |year=1944 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |edition=50th Anniversary edition (1944) |isbn=0-226-32061-8 |page=95}}</ref> argued that the increased economic freedom he believed the neoliberal reforms had brought had put pressure on the dictatorship over time, resulting in a gradual increase in political freedom and, ultimately, the restoration of democracy.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} The Chilean scholars Javier Martínez and Alvaro Díaz reject this argument, pointing to the long tradition of democracy in Chile. They assert that the defeat of the Pinochet regime and the return of democracy came primarily from large-scale mass rebellion that eventually forced party [[elite]]s to use existing institutional mechanisms to restore democracy.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Alvaro Díaz |last1=Eco |first2=Javier Martínez |last2=Bengoa |first3=Diaz |last3=Martinez |first4=Dharam |last4=Ghai |title=Chile: The Great Transformation |publisher=[[Brookings Institution Press]] |date=1996 |isbn=0-8157-5478-7 |pages=3–4}}</ref>

[[File:GDP per capita LA-Chile-2.png|thumb|upright=1.15 |GDP per capita in Chile and Latin America 1950–2010 (time under Pinochet highlighted)]]

In the 1990s, neoliberal economic policies broadened and deepened, including unilateral tariff reductions and the adoption of free trade agreements with a number of Latin American countries and Canada.<ref name=Chile-IMF>{{cite journal |last1=Aninat |first1=Eduardo |title=Chile in the 1990s: Embracing Development Opportunities |journal=[[Finance & Development]] |date=March 2000 |volume=37 |issue=1 |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2000/03/aninat.htm |access-date=July 11, 2019}}</ref> At the same time, the decade brought increases in government expenditure on social programs to tackle poverty and poor quality housing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dominguez |first1=Jorge |title=Constructing democratic governance in Latin America |date=2003 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |isbn=1421409798}}</ref> Throughout the 1990s, Chile maintained high growth, averaging 7.3% from 1990 to 1998.<ref name=Chile-IMF/> Eduardo Aninat, writing for the IMF journal ''Finance & Development'', called the period from 1986 to 2000 "the longest, strongest, and most stable period of growth in [Chile's] history."<ref name=Chile-IMF/> In 1999, there was a brief recession brought about by the [[Asian financial crisis]], with growth resuming in 2000 and remaining near 5% until the [[Great Recession]].<ref>{{cite web |title=GDP growth (annual %) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=CL |website=The World Bank |access-date=July 11, 2019}}</ref>

In sum, the neoliberal policies of the 1980s and 1990s—initiated by a repressive [[authoritarianism|authoritarian government]]—transformed the Chilean economy from a [[protectionism|protected market]] with high [[barriers to trade]] and hefty [[government intervention]] into one of the world's most [[open economy|open]] [[free-market]] economies.<ref>{{cite web |title=2019 |work=[[Index of Economic Freedom]] |url=https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking |publisher=[[The Heritage Foundation]] |access-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026110910/http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking |url-status=unfit }}</ref><ref name="K. Remmer 1998 5-55"/> Chile experienced the worst economic bust of any Latin American country during the [[Latin American debt crisis]] (several years into neoliberal reform), but also had one of the most robust recoveries,<ref name=Heritage-Chile/> rising from the poorest Latin American country in terms of [[GDP per capita]] in 1980 (along with Peru) to the richest in 2019.<ref name="VOX-CEPR">{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Sebastian |title=Chile's insurgency and the end of neoliberalism |url=https://voxeu.org/article/chile-s-insurgency-and-end-neoliberalism |website=[[Vox (website)|VOX]] |publisher=Center for Economic and Policy Research |date=November 30, 2019}}</ref> Average annual economic growth from the mid-1980s to the Asian crisis in 1997 was 7.2%, 3.5% between 1998 and 2005, and growth in per capita real income from 1985 to 1996 averaged 5%—all outpacing Latin American averages.<ref name=Heritage-Chile>{{cite news |last1=Buc |first1=Hernán Büchi |title=How Chile Successfully Transformed Its Economy |url=https://www.heritage.org/international-economies/report/how-chile-successfully-transformed-its-economy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208170956/http://www.heritage.org/international-economies/report/how-chile-successfully-transformed-its-economy |url-status=unfit |archive-date=February 8, 2017 |access-date=July 8, 2019 |publisher=[[The Heritage Foundation]] |date=September 18, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Becker |first=Gary S. |author-link=Gary Becker |year=1997 |editor1-last=Robinson |editor1-first=Peter |title=What Latin America Owes to the "Chicago Boys" |url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/article/7743 |url-status=dead |journal=[[Hoover Institution#Publications|Hoover Digest]] |issue=4 |issn=1088-5161 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724040917/http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/article/7743 |archive-date=July 24, 2010 |access-date=October 3, 2010}}</ref> Inflation was brought under control.<ref name="World Bank-2019" /> Between 1970 and 1985 the [[infant mortality]] rate in Chile fell from 76.1 per 1000 to 22.6 per 1000,<ref name="WDI2">{{cite web |website=[[World Bank]] |date=April 2010 |location=Washington, DC |access-date=October 1, 2010 |url=http://data.worldbank.org |title=World Development Indicators database}}</ref> the lowest in Latin America.<ref>{{cite book |title=Economic Reforms in Chile: From Dictatorship to Democracy |last=French-Davis |first=Ricardo |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |location=Ann Arbor, MI |page=188}}</ref> Unemployment from 1980 to 1990 decreased, but remained higher than the South American average (which was stagnant). And despite public perception among Chileans that economic inequality has increased, Chile's [[Gini coefficient]] has in fact dropped from 56.2 in 1987 to 46.6 in 2017.<ref name="VOX-CEPR"/><ref>{{cite web |title=GINI index (World Bank estimate) – Chile |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=CL |publisher=The World Bank}}</ref> While this is near the Latin American average, Chile still has one of the highest Gini coefficients in the [[OECD]], an organization of mostly [[developed countries]] that includes Chile but not most other Latin American countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Income inequality |url=https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm |website=OECD Data |publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] |access-date=January 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918094533/https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm |archive-date=September 18, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Furthermore, the Gini coefficient measures only [[income inequality]]; Chile has more mixed inequality ratings in the OECD's [[OECD Better Life Index|Better Life Index]], which includes indexes for more factors than only income, like [[housing]] and [[education]].<ref>{{cite web |title=OECD Better Life Index |url=http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/ |publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]]}}</ref><ref name="VOX-CEPR"/> Additionally, the percentage of the Chilean population living in poverty rose from 17% in 1969 to 45% in 1985<ref>Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, ''Economic Reforms in Chile: From Dictatorship to Democracy'', [[University of Michigan Press]], 2002, {{ISBN|978-0472112326}}, p. 193</ref> at the same time government budgets for education, health and housing dropped by over 20% on average.<ref name="Petras and Vieux 1998 57-72">{{Cite journal |last1=Petras |first1=James |last2=Vieux |first2=Steve |date=July 1990 |title=The Chilean "economic miracle": an empirical critique |journal=[[Critical Sociology (journal)|Critical Sociology]] |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=57–72 |doi=10.1177/089692059001700203 |s2cid=143590493}}</ref> The era was also marked by economic instability.<ref name=Sen-Chile>{{Cite book |title=Hunger and Public Action |last=Sen |first=Amartya |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1991 |isbn=9780198283652}}</ref>

Overall, scholars have mixed opinions on the effects of the neoliberal reforms. The [[CIA World Factbook]] states that Chile's "sound economic policies", maintained consistently since the 1980s, "have contributed to steady economic growth in Chile and have more than halved poverty rates,"<ref name="cia.gov">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/chile/ Chile]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].</ref> and some scholars have even called the period the "[[Miracle of Chile]]". Other scholars have called it a failure that led to extreme inequalities in the distribution of income and resulted in severe socioeconomic damage.<ref name="kas.de"/> It is also contested how much these changes were the result of neoliberal economic policies and how much they were the result of other factors;<ref name=Sen-Chile/> in particular, some scholars argue that after the [[Crisis of 1982]] the "pure" neoliberalism of the late 1970s was replaced by a focus on fostering a [[social market economy]] that mixed neoliberal and social welfare policies.{{sfnp|Harvey|2005|p=74}}<ref>{{cite journal |first=Silvia |last=Borzutzky |title=From Chicago to Santiago: Neoliberalism and social security privatization in Chile |journal=[[Governance (journal)|Governance]] |volume=18 |number=4 |date=2005 |pages=655–674 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-0491.2005.00296.x |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229866806}}</ref>

As a response to the [[2019–20 Chilean protests]], a [[2020 Chilean national plebiscite|national plebiscite]] was held in October 2020 to decide whether the [[Chilean Constitution of 1980|Chilean constitution]] would be rewritten. The "approve" option for a new constitution to replace the Pinochet-era constitution, which entrenched certain neoliberal principles into the country's basic law, won with 78% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 26, 2020 |title=Jubilation as Chile votes to rewrite constitution |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-54687090 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref name="bonnefoy">{{Cite news |last=Bonnefoy |first=Pascale |date=October 25, 2020 |title='An End to the Chapter of Dictatorship': Chileans Vote to Draft a New Constitution |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/world/americas/chile-constitution-plebiscite.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025171006/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/world/americas/chile-constitution-plebiscite.html |archive-date=October 25, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=November 22, 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> However, in [[2022 Chilean constitutional referendum|September 2022]], the referendum to approve a rewritten the constitution was rejected with 61% of the vote.

==== Peru ====
{{Further|Plan Verde}}
Peruvian economist [[Hernando de Soto (economist)|Hernando de Soto]], the founder of one of the first neoliberal organizations in Latin America, [[Institute for Liberty and Democracy]] (ILD), began to receive assistance from [[Ronald Reagan]]'s administration, with the [[National Endowment for Democracy]]'s Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) providing his ILD with funding.<ref name="Pee-2018a">{{Cite book |last=Pee |first=Robert |title=The Reagan Administration, the Cold War, and the Transition to Democracy Promotion |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-3319963815 |pages=178–180}}</ref><ref name="Pee-2018">{{Cite book |last=Pee |first=Robert |title=The Reagan Administration, the Cold War, and the Transition to Democracy Promotion |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-3319963815 |pages=168–187}}</ref><ref name="Mitchell-2005">{{Cite journal |last=Mitchell |first=Timothy |date=2005 |title=The work of economics: how a discipline makes its world |journal=[[European Journal of Sociology]] |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=299–310 |doi=10.1017/S000397560500010X |doi-access=free}}</ref> The economic policy of [[President of Peru|President]] [[Alan García]] distanced Peru from international markets, resulting in lower foreign investment in the country.<ref name="CHA-2010">{{Cite web |date=June 2, 2010 |title=Welcome, Mr. Peruvian President: Why Alan García is no hero to his people |url=http://www.coha.org/welcome-mr-peruvian-president-why-alan-garcia-is-no-hero-to-his-people/ |access-date=April 18, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418150551/http://www.coha.org/welcome-mr-peruvian-president-why-alan-garcia-is-no-hero-to-his-people/ |archive-date=April 18, 2019 |website=[[Council on Hemispheric Affairs]]}}</ref> Under García, Peru experienced [[hyperinflation]] and increased confrontations with the guerrilla group [[Shining Path]], leading the country towards high levels of instability.<ref name="Burt-1998">{{Cite journal |last=Burt |first=Jo-Marie |date=September–October 1998 |title=Unsettled accounts: militarization and memory in postwar Peru |journal=[[NACLA|NACLA Report on the Americas]] |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=35–41 |doi=10.1080/10714839.1998.11725657 |quote=the military's growing frustration over the limitations placed upon its counterinsurgency operations by democratic institutions, coupled with the growing inability of civilian politicians to deal with the spiraling economic crisis and the expansion of the Shining Path, prompted a group of military officers to devise a coup plan in the late 1980s. The plan called for the dissolution of Peru's civilian government, military control over the state, and total elimination of armed opposition groups. The plan, developed in a series of documents known as the "Plan Verde," outlined a strategy for carrying out a military coup in which the armed forces would govern for 15 to 20 years and radically restructure state-society relations along neoliberal lines.}}</ref> The Peruvian armed forces grew frustrated with the inability of the García administration to handle the nation's crises and began to draft an operation – [[Plan Verde]] – to overthrow his government.<ref name="Burt-1998" />

The military's Plan Verde involved the "[[Genocide|total extermination]]" of impoverished and indigenous Peruvians perceived as a drain on the economy, the control or [[censorship]] of media in the nation and the establishment of a [[neoliberal]] economy in Peru.<ref name="CANbio">{{cite journal |last1=Gaussens |first1=Pierre |date=2020 |title=The forced serilization of indigenous population in Mexico in the 1990s |journal=[[Canadian Journal of Bioethics]] |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=180+ |doi=10.7202/1073797ar |s2cid=234586692 |quote=a government plan, developed by the Peruvian army between 1989 and 1990s to deal with the Shining Path insurrection, later known as the 'Green Plan', whose (unpublished) text expresses in explicit terms a genocidal intention |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Burt-1998"/> During his campaigning for the [[1990 Peruvian general election]], [[Alberto Fujimori]] initially expressed concern against the proposed neoliberal policies of his opponent [[Mario Vargas Llosa]].<ref>{{cite web |date=April 14, 1990 |title=La frugalidad de "Cambio 90" y el derroche de Fredemo |trans-title=The frugality of "Cambio 90" and the waste of Fredemo |publisher=El Proceso |url=http://www.proceso.com.mx/154825/la-frugalidad-de-cambio-90-y-el-derroche-de-fredemo |access-date=December 27, 2017 |archive-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920122715/https://www.proceso.com.mx/154825/la-frugalidad-de-cambio-90-y-el-derroche-de-fredemo |url-status=dead |language=es}}</ref> Peruvian magazine ''[[Oiga (magazine)|Oiga]]'' reported that, following the election, the armed forces were unsure of Fujimori's willingness to fulfill the plan's objectives, though they planned to convince Fujimori to agree to the operation prior to his inauguration.<ref name="Oiga-1993">{{Cite magazine |date=July 12, 1993 |title=El "Plan Verde" Historia de una traición |trans-title=The "Green Plan" Story of a betrayal |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/310286817/El-Plan-Verde |magazine=[[Oiga (magazine)|Oiga]] |volume=647 |language=es}}</ref> After taking office, Fujimori abandoned his campaign's economic platform, adopting more aggressive neoliberal policies than those espoused by his election competitor Vargas Llosa.<ref name="gouge32">{{Cite book |last=Gouge |first=Thomas |title=Exodus from Capitalism: The End of Inflation and Debt |date=2003 |page=363}}</ref> With Fujimori's compliance, plans for a coup as designed in Plan Verde were prepared for two years and finally executed during the [[1992 Peruvian coup d'état]], which ultimately established a civilian-military regime.<ref name="LAgolpe1">{{cite journal |last1=Cameron |first1=Maxwell A. |date=June 1998 |title=Latin American Autogolpes: Dangerous Undertows in the Third Wave of Democratisation |journal=[[Third World Quarterly]] |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |volume=19 |issue=2 |page=228 |doi=10.1080/01436599814433 |quote=the outlines for Peru's presidential coup were first developed within the armed forces before the 1990 election. This Plan Verde was shown to President Fujimorti after the 1990 election before his inauguration. Thus, the president was able to prepare for an eventual self-coup during the first two years of his administration}}</ref><ref name="Oiga-1993"/>

Shortly after the inauguration of Fujimori, his government received a $715 million grant from [[United States Agency for International Development|United States Agency for International Development (USAID)]] on 29 September 1990 for the Policy Analysis, Planning and Implementation Project (PAPI) that was developed "to support economic policy reform in the country".<ref name="US AID-1997">{{Cite web |date=May 1997 |title=Evaluation of the Policy Analysis, Planning and Implementation (PAPI) Project USAID/Peru |url=https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABR060.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007061521/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABR060.pdf |archive-date=October 7, 2006 |url-status=dead |website=[[United States Agency of International Development]]}}</ref> De Soto proved to be influential to Fujimori, who began to repeat de Soto's advocacy for deregulating the Peruvian economy.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 4, 1991 |title=Peru's Fujimori Weighs In On Behalf of Street Sellers Nation's informal economy is protected in president's economic plan |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]}}</ref> Under Fujimori, de Soto served as "the President's personal representative", with ''[[The New York Times]]'' describing de Soto as an "overseas salesman", while others dubbed de Soto as the "informal president" for Fujimori.<ref name="Brooke-1990">{{Cite news |last1=Brooke |first1=James |date=November 27, 1990 |title=A Peruvian Is Laying Out Another Path |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/27/world/a-peruvian-is-laying-out-another-path.html |access-date=September 26, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Pee-2018a"/> In a recommendation to Fujimori, de Soto called for a "shock" to Peru's economy.<ref name="Pee-2018a"/> The policies included a 300% tax increase, unregulated prices and privatizing two-hundred and fifty state-owned entities.<ref name="Pee-2018a"/> The policies of de Soto led to the immediate suffering of poor Peruvians who saw unregulated prices increase rapidly.<ref name="Pee-2018a" /> Those living in poverty saw prices increase so much that they could no longer afford food.<ref name="Pee-2018a" /> ''The New York Times'' wrote that de Soto advocated for the collapse of Peru's society, with the economist saying that a civil crisis was necessary to support the policies of Fujimori.<ref name="NYTfeb">{{cite news |last1=Nash |first1=Nathaniel C. |date=February 24, 1991 |title=The World; Fujimori In the Time Of Cholera |page=Section 4, Page 2 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/24/weekinreview/the-world-fujimori-in-the-time-of-cholera.html |access-date=August 5, 2021}}</ref> Fujimori and de Soto would ultimately break their ties after de Soto recommended increased involvement of citizens within the government, which was received with disapproval by Fujimori.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Robinson |first=Eugene |date=March 23, 1991 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/03/23/peruvians-puzzle-over-president/7010b183-2ef6-4e76-8d53-710d9f5921d6/|title=Peruvians Puzzle Over President; Popularity Plummets As 'Fujishock' Felt |page=a12 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |quote=But when de Soto announced a program of administrative reform to involve the public in government decisions, Fujimori's cabinet undercut him.}}</ref> USAID would go on to assist the Fujimori government with rewriting the 1993 Peruvian constitution, with the agency concluding in 1997 that it helped with the "preparation of legislative texts" and "contributed to the emergence of a private sector advisory role".<ref name="Rendon-2013">{{Cite book |last=Rendón |first=Silvio |title=La intervención de los Estados Unidos en el Perú |language=es |trans-title=The intervention of the United States in Peru |publisher=Editorial Sur |year=2013 |isbn=9786124574139 |pages=150–152}}</ref><ref name="US AID-1997"/> The policies promoted by de Soto and implemented by Fujimori eventually caused macroeconomic stability and a reduction in the rate of [[inflation]], though Peru's poverty rate remained largely unchanged with over half of the population living in poverty in 1998.<ref name="Pee-2018a"/><ref name="Stokes-1997">{{cite journal |last1=Stokes |first1=Susan |title=Are Parties What's Wrong with Democracy in Latin America? |journal=XX International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Guadalajara, Mexico, April 17–19, 1997 |year=1997 |citeseerx=10.1.1.569.1490}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pee |first=Robert |title=The Reagan Administration, the Cold War, and the Transition to Democracy Promotion |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-3319963815 |pages=187–188}}</ref>

According to the [[Foundation for Economic Education]], USAID, the [[United Nations Population Fund|United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)]] and the [[Nippon Foundation]] also supported the sterilization efforts of the Fujimori government.<ref name="McMaken-2018">{{Cite web |last=McMaken |first=Ryan |date=October 26, 2018 |title=How the U.S. Government Led a Program That Forcibly Sterilized Thousands of Poor Peruvian Women in the 1990s |url=https://fee.org/articles/the-us-government-led-a-program-that-forcibly-sterilized-thousands-of-peruvian-women/ |access-date=August 4, 2021 |website=[[Foundation for Economic Education]] |language=en}}</ref> E. Liagin reported that from 1993 to 1998, USAID "basically took charge of the national health system of Peru" during the period of forced sterilizations.<ref name="McMaken-2018"/> At least 300,000 Peruvians were victims of forced sterilization by the Fujimori government in the 1990s, with the majority being affected by the [[National Population Program|PNSRPF]].<ref name="CANbio"/> The policy of sterilizations resulted in a generational shift that included a smaller younger generation that could not provide economic stimulation to rural areas, making such regions more impoverished.<ref name="BBC News-2002">{{Cite news |date=July 24, 2002 |title=Mass sterilisation scandal shocks Peru |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2148793.stm |access-date=August 4, 2021}}</ref>

Though economic statistics show improved economic data in Peru in recent decades, the wealth earned between 1990 and 2020 was not distributed throughout the country; living standards showed disparities between the more-developed capital city of Lima and similar coastal regions while rural provinces remained impoverished.<ref name="BA Times-2021">{{Cite web |date=June 3, 2021 |title=Buenos Aires Times {{!}} Inequality fuels rural teacher's unlikely bid to upend Peru |url=https://batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/inequality-fuels-a-rural-teachers-unlikely-bid-to-upend-peru.phtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604101055/https://batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/inequality-fuels-a-rural-teachers-unlikely-bid-to-upend-peru.phtml |archive-date=June 4, 2021 |access-date=June 4, 2021 |website=[[Buenos Aires Times]] |publisher=[[Bloomberg.com|Bloomberg]]}}</ref><ref name="Allen-2021">{{cite magazine |last=Allen |first=Nicolas |date=June 1, 2021 |title=Pedro Castillo Can Help End Neoliberalism in Peru |url=https://jacobinmag.com/2021/06/pedro-castillo-peru-libre-keiko-fujimori-runoff-election-june-6-neoliberalism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618113630/https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/06/pedro-castillo-peru-libre-keiko-fujimori-runoff-election-june-6-neoliberalism |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |access-date=June 3, 2021 |magazine=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]]}}</ref><ref name="O'Boyle-2021">{{Cite web |last=O'Boyle |first=Brendan |date=May 3, 2021 |title=Pedro Castillo and the 500-Year-Old Lima vs Rural Divide |url=https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/pedro-castillo-and-the-500-year-old-lima-vs-rural-divide/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603100944/https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/pedro-castillo-and-the-500-year-old-lima-vs-rural-divide/ |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |access-date=June 3, 2021 |website=[[Americas Quarterly]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Sociologist Maritza Paredes of the [[Pontifical Catholic University of Peru]] stated, "People see that all the natural resources are in the countryside but all the benefits are concentrated in Lima."<ref name="BA Times-2021"/> In 2020, the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Peru]] compounded these disparities,<ref name="Allen-2021"/><ref name="O'Boyle-2021"/> with political scientist Professor Farid Kahhat of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru stating that, "market reforms in Peru have yielded positive results in terms of reducing poverty ... But what the pandemic has laid bare, particularly in Peru, is that poverty was reduced while leaving the miserable state of public services unaltered{{snd}}most clearly in the case of health services."<ref name="Allen-2021"/> The candidacy of [[Pedro Castillo]] in the [[2021 Peruvian general election]] brought attention to the disparities between urban and rural Peruvians, with much of his support being earned in the exterior portions of the country.<ref name="O'Boyle-2021"/> Castillo ultimately won the election, with ''The New York Times'' reporting his victory as the "clearest repudiation of the country's establishment".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tegel |first=Simeon |title=Presumed President-elect Pedro Castillo faces challenges in Peru |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/18/who-is-pedro-castillo-perus-presumed-president-elect |access-date=June 22, 2021 |work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Taj |first1=Mitra |last2=Turkewitz |first2=Julie |date=July 20, 2021 |title=Pedro Castillo, Leftist Political Outsider, Wins Peru Presidency |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/world/americas/peru-election-pedro-castillo.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/world/americas/peru-election-pedro-castillo.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=July 20, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==== Argentina ====
{{further|José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz|Domingo Cavallo}}
In the 1960s, [[Latin America]]n intellectuals began to notice the ideas of [[ordoliberalism]]; they often used the Spanish term "neoliberalismo" to refer to this school of thought. They were particularly impressed by the [[social market economy]] and the [[Wirtschaftswunder]] ("economic miracle") in Germany and speculated about the possibility of accomplishing similar policies in their own countries. Neoliberalism in 1960s Argentina meant a philosophy that was more moderate than entirely [[Laissez-faire]] [[free market|free-market]] [[capitalism]] and favored using state policy to temper [[social inequality]] and counter a tendency towards monopoly.{{sfnp|Boas|Gans-Morse|2009}}

In 1976, the [[National Reorganization Process|military dictatorship]]'s economic plan led by [[José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz]] was the first attempt at establishing a neoliberal program in Argentina. They implemented a fiscal [[austerity]] plan that reduced money printing in an attempt to counter inflation. In order to achieve this, salaries were frozen; however, they were unable to reduce inflation, which led to a drop in the real salary of the working class. They also liberalized trade policy so that foreign goods could freely enter the country. Argentina's industry, which had been on the rise for 20 years after the economic policies of former president [[Arturo Frondizi]], rapidly declined as it was not able to compete with foreign goods. Following the measures, there was an increase in poverty from 9% in 1975 to 40% at the end of 1982.<ref name="Winn-2004" />

From 1989 to 2001, more neoliberal policies were implemented by [[Domingo Cavallo]]. This time, the privatization of public services was the main focus, although financial deregulation and free trade with foreign nations were also re-implemented. Along with an increased [[labour market flexibility]], the unemployment rate dropped to 18.3%.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2005 |title=Poster Child or Victim of Imperialist Globalization? Explaining Argentina's December 2001 Political Crisis and Economic Collapse |jstor=30040267 |journal=[[Latin American Perspectives]] |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=65–89 |last1=Carranza |first1=Mario E. |doi=10.1177/0094582X05281114 |s2cid=144975029}}</ref> Public perception of the policies was mixed; while some of the privatization was welcomed, much of it was criticized for not being in the people's best interests. Protests resulted in the death of 29 people at the hands of police.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Malamud |first1=Andrés |year=2015 |title=Social Revolution or Political Takeover? The Argentine Collapse of 2001 Reassessed |journal=[[Latin American Perspectives]] |volume=42 |page=10 |doi=10.1177/0094582X13492710 |s2cid=153480464}}</ref>

==== Mexico ====
Along with many other Latin American countries in the early 1980s, [[Mexico]] experienced a [[Latin American debt crisis|debt crisis]]. In 1983 the Mexican government ruled by the [[Institutional Revolutionary Party#:~:text=The Institutional Revolutionary Party (Spanish,, PNR), then as the|PRI]], the Institutional Revolutionary Party, [[Mexico and the International Monetary Fund|accepted loans from the IMF]].&nbsp;Among the conditions set by the IMF were requirements for Mexico to privatize state-run industries, [[Devaluation|devalue their currency]], decrease [[trade barrier]]s, and restrict governmental spending.<ref name="Musacchio-2012">{{Cite journal |last=Musacchio |first=Aldo |date=May 8, 2012 |title=Mexico's Financial Crisis of 1994–1995 |url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:9056792 |journal=[[Harvard Business School|Harvard Business School Working Paper]] |issue=12–101 |via=Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard}}</ref> These policies were aimed at stabilizing Mexico's economy in the short run. Later, Mexico tried to expand these policies to encourage growth and [[foreign direct investment]] (FDI).

The decision to accept the IMF's neoliberal reforms split the PRI between those on the right who wanted to implement neoliberal policies and those the left who did not.<ref name="Laurell-2015">{{Cite journal |last=Laurell |first=Asa Cristina |date=2015 |title=Three Decades of Neoliberalism in Mexico: The Destruction of Society |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020731414568507 |journal=[[International Journal of Health Services]] |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=246–264 |doi=10.1177/0020731414568507 |pmid=25813500 |s2cid=35915954 |via=SAGE}}</ref> [[Carlos Salinas de Gortari]], who took power in 1988, doubled down on neoliberal reforms. His policies opened up the financial sector by deregulating the banking system and privatizing commercial banks.<ref name="Musacchio-2012" /><ref name="Laurell-2015" /> Though these policies did encourage a small amount of growth and FDI, the growth rate was below what it had been under previous governments in Mexico, and the increase in foreign investment was largely from existing investors.<ref name="Laurell-2015" /> 
[[File:President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas participate in the... - NARA - 186460.jpg|thumb|U.S. President Bush, Canadian PM Mulroney, and Mexican President Salinas participate in the ceremonies to sign the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).]]
On 1 January 1994 the [[Zapatista Army of National Liberation|Zapatista Army]] of National Liberation, named for [[Emiliano Zapata]], a leader in the Mexican revolution, launched an armed rebellion against the Mexican government in the Chiapas region.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Godelmann |first=Iker Reyes |date=July 30, 2014 |title=The Zapatista Movement: The Fight for Indigenous Rights in Mexico |work=Australian Institute for International Affairs |url=http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/news-item/the-zapatista-movement-the-fight-for-indigenous-rights-in-mexico/}}</ref> Among their demands were rights for indigenous Mexicans as well as opposition to the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA), which solidified a strategic alliance between state and business.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bensabat Kleinberg |first1=Remonda |year=1999 |title=Strategic Alliances: State-Business Relations in Mexico Under Neo-Liberalism and Crisis |journal=[[Bulletin of Latin American Research]] |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=71–87 |doi=10.1111/j.1470-9856.1999.tb00188.x}}</ref>&nbsp; NAFTA, a trade agreement between the [[United States]], [[Canada]], and Mexico, significantly aided in Mexico's efforts to liberalize trade.

In 1994, the same year of the Zapatista rebellion and the enactment of NAFTA, Mexico faced a [[Mexican peso crisis|financial crisis]]. The crisis, also known as the [[Mexican peso crisis|"Tequila Crisis"]] began in December 1994 with the devaluation of the peso.<ref name="Laurell-2015" /><ref name="Sachs-1996">{{Cite journal |last=Sachs |first=Jeffrey |date=November 1996 |title=The Mexican peso crisis: Sudden death or death foretold? |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w5563.pdf |journal=[[Journal of International Economics]] |volume=41 |issue=3–4 |pages=265–283 |doi=10.1016/S0022-1996(96)01437-7 |s2cid=154060545 |via=[[Science Direct]]}}</ref> When investors' doubts led to negative speculation they fled with their capital.&nbsp;The central bank was forced to raise [[interest rate]]s which in turn collapsed the banking system as borrowers could no longer pay back their loans.<ref name="Sachs-1996" />

After Salinas, [[Ernesto Zedillo]] (1995–2000) maintained similar economic policies to his predecessor. Despite the crisis, Zedillo continued to enact neoliberal policies and signed new agreements with the [[World Bank]] and the IMF.<ref name="Laurell-2015" /> As a result of these policies and the 1994 recession, Mexico's economy did gain stability. Neither the 2001 or [[Great Recession|2008]] recessions were caused by internal economic forces in Mexico. Trade increased dramatically, as well as FDI; however, as Mexico's [[business cycle]] synced with that of the United States, it was much more vulnerable to external economic pressures.<ref name="Musacchio-2012" /> FDI benefited the Northern and Central regions of Mexico while the Southern region was largely excluded from the influx of investment. The crisis also left the banks mainly in the hands of foreigners.

The PRI's 71-year rule ended when [[Vicente Fox]] of the PAN, the [[National Action Party (Mexico)|National Action Party]], won the election in 2000. Fox and his successor, [[Felipe Calderón]], did not significantly diverge from the economic policies of the PRI governments. They continued to privatize the financial system and encourage foreign investment.<ref name="Laurell-2015" /> Despite significant opposition, [[Enrique Peña Nieto]], president from 2012 to 2018, pushed through legislation that would privatize the [[Petroleum industry in Mexico|oil]] and [[Electricity sector in Mexico|electricity industries]]. These reforms marked the conclusion to the neoliberal goals that had been envisioned in Mexico in the 1980s.<ref name="Laurell-2015" />

==== Brazil ====
{{Main|Economic history of Brazil}}
Brazil adopted neoliberal policies in the late 1980s, with support from the worker's party on the left. For example, tariff rates were cut from 32% in 1990 to 14% in 1994. During this period, Brazil effectively ended its policy of maintaining a closed economy focused on [[import substitution industrialization]] in favor of a more open economic system with a much higher degree of privatization. The market reforms and trade reforms ultimately resulted in price stability and a faster inflow of capital but had little effect on income inequality and poverty. Consequently, mass protests continued during the period.<ref>Edmund Amann, and Werner Baer, "Neoliberalism and its consequences in Brazil." ''Journal of Latin American Studies'' 34.4 (2002): 945–959. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Werner_Baer/publication/231930218_Neoliberalism_and_Its_Consequences_in_Brazil/links/5545351f0cf24107d397b0ad.pdf Online]</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Saad-Filho |first1=Alfredo |year=2013 |title=Mass protests under 'left neoliberalism': Brazil, June–July 2013 |journal=[[Critical Sociology]] |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=657–669 |doi=10.1177/0896920513501906 |s2cid=144667014}}</ref>