The New Mole: Paths of the Latin American Left,by Emir Sader

Since its colonisation by European nation-states, Latin America has been deeply entwined both in the development of capitalism and the setting forth of alternatives. States in Latin America have been home to violent entrenchment of capitalist exploitation through dictatorship, as in Brazil and Chile, amongst others, but have also seen radical transformation, such as in Cuba. As Emir Sader notes, Latin America has been ‘the laboratory of neoliberalism’ (p. 35). Equally, its history of subordination to other elements of the global economy has been widely studied. However, Latin American states have emerged from the global financial crisis of 2008 showing positive signs that neoliberal capitalism can either be modified or perhaps transformed outright. It is towards an assessment of the possibilities for left activity in this context that The New Mole: Paths of the American Left is directed.

The title of The New Mole is derived from a quotation from Karl Marx’s Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. Describing the apparent defeat of revolutionary action in France, Marx reminds us that the potential for change has not been destroyed but only deferred, and that even if the process of transformation is now obscured, it will soon emerge again like a mole from its burrow (Marx 2001 [1852]: 128). Sader seizes upon this image as a means of interpreting the winding history of the Latin American left, with all its progress, regression and suppression. At the core of this analysis stands the observation that ‘Revolution never repeats itself; it always appears as a heretic’ (p. xvi). This book is therefore not an attempt to see the possibilities for the future arranged in the past, but an incitement to formulate new paths of struggle which deal with the concrete requirements of contemporary reality. From the core of this enquiry comes a call for a new theory of Left action in Latin America, a strategy of the ‘New Mole’ (p. 79).

Across five chapters, the author offers a view of contemporary and historical struggles against capitalism in Latin America which is sweeping and inclusive as well as balanced, detailed and nuanced. The first two chapters chart the history of left-wing political agency, followed by the ascent and subsequent crisis of the neoliberal model of capitalism in the region. Chapter 3 deals in detail with the contradictions of Lula Inácio da Silva’s two terms as president of Brazil. This focus is notable in that it holds back from the vehement condemnation of Lula as a traitor to the left and a simple instrument of neoliberal class rule often seen elsewhere. Sader instead forwards a more optimistic appraisal, suggesting that whilst Lula maintained neoliberal financial policies, he also introduced social programmes and extended the economic and social rights of the least well off, which lends a progressive character to his tenure in the final analysis (p. 63). Indeed, it is this moderate tone that suffuses the rest of the book, even as Sader reiterates the need to transform rather than only modify neoliberal capitalism. Chapter 4 comprises the bulk of The New Mole, and it is here that the main thesis is elaborated, namely that the solution to the search for a new practice for social transformation comes from resolving the apparent contradiction between reform and revolution (p. 86). The final chapter assesses the future of Latin American struggles on the left, questioning their potential to go beyond simply limiting the excesses of capitalism (p. 150).

Although the other four chapters of The New Mole are to some extent a wrapper for the essay ‘Orphans of Strategy’, several key themes permeate the work as a whole. Sader’s analysis is not devoted to challenging neoliberalism in Latin America so much as to theorising post-neoliberalism. This is defined by rejection of neoliberal policies, rather than presenting a new model of politics in and of itself (p. 37). In pursuit of post- neoliberalism, Sader outlines a critique of two major tendencies within the left. On one hand, the ‘ultra-left logic’ (p. 86), is defined by rejection of concrete political programmes combined with an over-commitment to abstract theory. This leads to disengagement from state-oriented politics and concrete strategy, or else application of old revolutionary theories in rigid and orthodox fashion (pp. 106-107). On the other hand lies the ‘reformist logic’, which has delivered limited economic and social gains (pp. 108-109). Both Lula and his successor, Dilma Rousseff, are criticised as existing within this tradition, seeking social goods whilst failing to challenge neoliberal capitalism at its roots (pp. 110-11).

Sader calls for a new strategy that can overcome the limitations of both tendencies. The goal of the titular ‘New Mole’ is to seek post-neoliberalism through deep reforms combined with revolutionary transformation (pp. 111-12). The strategy of the new mole is that of social movements providing support for state policies administered by left political parties. Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador are all cast as recent examples of the application of this strategy (pp. 126-27). Consequently, John Holloway and Toni Negri are both criticised for promoting theory that privileges autonomy of social movements over engagement with states and political parties (pp. 76, 124-26).

The challenge laid out within The New Mole is both incisive and pertinent, calling for recognition of the inherent heterogeneity of struggles against capitalism and seeking a new theory capable of conceptualising the agency of the left without resorting to an orthodoxy which is out of place. However, the analysis forwarded fails to fully realise such a theory. Sader is emphatic that the essential goal of strategy – control of the state – remains the same (p. 16). The hierarchy between party, movement and academy remains equally unchanged, with policy provided by the former and ideas by the latter. At times, the text appears to suggest that social movements are incapable of producing a theory to direct their own action, and that the academy is to blame for failing to provide guidance (pp. 77-8). Viewed in such a light, the ‘new mole’ looks decidedly older.

Accordingly, the reader may wish to look elsewhere for responses to the challenge this book lays out. One excellent example is offered by Marcos del Roio (2011). In translating Gramsci’s tools of analysis to the new context found in Brazil, del Roio suggests that social movements may succeed where traditional political parties have failed. Rather than compromising with the existing order, new class agents such as the Landless Workers Movement may form the foundation of a subaltern hegemony, providing not only bodies in the struggle but ideological resources developed within their own organisations (del Roio, 2011: 78-82). As such, it may be that radical social movements may display the truly heterodox emergence of the new mole in Latin America.