Prospects for left renewal dominate this issue of Catalyst. Aviva Chomsky describes the events and dynamics leading up to Gustavo Petro’s historic victory in Colombia’s national elections. After the retreat of the pink tide over the past several decades, things seem to be moving once again in Latin America, with the Left’s resurgence in Chile — analyzed by René Rojas in our last edition — Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s resiliency in Mexico, and now Petro’s victory in one of the region’s biggest economies.

As Chomsky observes, the victory represents an immense political advance for progressive forces in Latin America, but it should hardly be cause for complacency. The Colombian ruling class has been one of the most violent and obdurate in the region, and they are not likely to give Petro much room to maneuver. As with Chile, Petro’s future will depend on its ability to develop a deeper reliance on a mobilized base than the pink tide was able to muster, and an economic strategy that delivers real gains to working people.

Achieving power is one part of the puzzle. But what do you do once you have it? Alex Gourevitch challenges some notions that have been gaining traction on the Left about the place of work in a socialist economy. Gourevitch observes that among many radical theorists, the antidote to capitalist exploitation is confused with a freedom from work itself. Hence, socialism is promoted as a system in which economic rights will expand to the point where work itself is entirely optional. This, he argues, is an error, both morally and practically.