Podemos and Latin America

In this chapter we look at the recent experience of progressive governments in South America and the appropriation of elements of these by the Spanish political organization Podemos. Considering the cases of different political processes in South America, we review the debates that had particular impact on Podemos as a political party, especially in terms of political proposals and forms of organization, between the social and the political, the movement and the state. Based on the political tensions that permeate both Latin American experiences and the Spanish context, we map different theoretical positions that influenced these experiences, placing them in dialogue with political traditions and the political situations of each place. In conclusion, we analyze the possibilities and difficulties of building a progressive party in Spain, while reviewing new experiences that are being organized in South America as part of the same political conversation.