The authoritarian tendencies of 21st-century capitalism
 

A major economic, political, cultural and geopolitical battle is being waged in the context of capitalism's quest for repositioning and its authoritarian intentions to reorganise the global geo-economic order

Irene León

The quest for self-determination is a constant theme in Iberian America and the Caribbean. At different times and in various contexts, proposals for sovereignty emerge and become the backbone of challenging projects for change, sometimes localised and sometimes systemic, such as those that have shaped the region's destiny so far this century. At the same time, there are recurring bouts of authoritarianism which, with different nuances, are also a constant feature, serving to maintain the prevailing conditions of subjugation.

But there are times when authoritarianism comes tothe fore, especially when it comes to disciplining the peoples to promote systems related to the implementation of a specific mode of accumulation. This has been the case in recent decades, when the imposition of neoliberalism came hand in hand with dictatorships and fierce shock operations. Subsequently, to achieve neoliberal globalisation, repressive and military interventions were combined with communication strategies to win hearts and minds, seeking to convince people that there is nothing better than being at the bottom of the global supply chain, with all the exclusions that this entails, but with a mobile phone connected to the capitalist market.


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