Counterhegemonies and Emancipations: Notes for a Debate

Raúl Ornelas sets out to describe the parameters of the political debate that has taken center stage in Latin America between those who see political action within the lens of counterhegemony and those who see the most recent antisystemic movements as the emergence of a new logic of political action under the banner of “autonomy.” Ornelas attempts to avoid the oppositional reactions with which proponents of each position have met the other in the Latin American context and instead attempts an evenhanded evaluation of the vision and actions of each position, placing emphasis on the fact that unlike the conceptual debate that seems to surround them, in practice these positions have often overlapped within the same organizations and movements. By outlining the characteristics of each position, Ornelas then goes on to draw a conclusive evaluation of the strength and weaknesses of each in the face of the contemporary function of the neoliberal state.