The author explores the more independent minded Latin American regime's and their unusual relationship with both their indigenous social movements and the multinational corporations (MNCs).
North American leftists may be mislead by the recent expropriation of Repsol, the Spanish oil corporation, by the Argentine government and get the wrong idea about all the regimes' relationships with the MNCs.
Although the relationships vary by country among these progressive regimes, they share certain commonalities which he describes in some detail:
...the progressive regimes have pursued a multi-faceted double discourse: an anti-imperialist, nationalist and populist rhetoric for domestic consumption while putting into practice a policy of fomenting and expanding the role of foreign extractive capital in joint ventures with the state and a rising new national bourgeoisie. The progressive regimes articulate a narrative of socialism and participatory democracy but in practice pursue policies linking development with the concentration and centralization of capital and executive power.
The progressive regimes preach a doctrine of social justice and equity and a practice of co-optation of social leaders and clientalism via poverty programs for the poorest sectors of society.