This thesis examines the structural and historical foundations of exploitation in Latin America and the consequences of neoliberal restructuring in the region, with particular focus on Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. Situating neoliberalism as the result of longstanding imperialism in the region dating back to the Monroe Doctrine, my thesis argues that the rise of international financial institutions (like the International Monetary Fund) and the United States’ intervention in the region in the twentieth century has reshaped the region’s politics and approach to participation in the global market. Chile’s role as a neoliberal laboratory under Augusto Pinochet’s shift to Washington Consensus-informed policies moved the nation toward austerity, privatization, and deregulation—becoming the model for the rest of the region. Argentina’s 2001 economic crisis and Bolivia’s Water and Gas Wars revealed the vulnerabilities and failures of this rushed market-oriented economic restructuring. 

Moving past the shortcomings of the economic crisis in the region, this work also examines the collective resistance against neoliberalism. Through analysis of mass protests, labor mobilization, and grassroots movements, it is revealed how the neoliberal crisis generated new alternative visions of sovereignty. This project argues that neoliberalism in Latin America is not a result of hegemonic inevitability but rather consistent exploitation and domination of the region, and is consistently met with organized resistance fueled by the desire for alternative models.