Dependency Theory and Marxism in Latin America: Between Convergences and Contradictions

The emergence of Marxist dependency theory (MDT) in Latin America during the 1960s questioned the developmentalist doctrines of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the class alliance strategies of communist parties. MDT gained traction during the Cold War in the 1970s and 1980s and saw a new cycle of ascension in the early 21st century with the rise of progressive governments during Latin America’s Pink Tide. While some MDT scholars identify with Marxism-Leninism, this article critically examines aspects of this claimed affinity. The hypothesis posits that MDT’s assertions diverge from fundamental Leninist concepts and the theoretical traditions of Marxist-Leninist parties, instead reviving in new forms the arguments of their opponents in classical Marxist debates. The analysis focuses on two key dimensions of MDT arguments: (1) political propositions concerning the two-stage theory and alliances with bourgeois sectors by proletarian parties and (2) theoretical propositions on superexploitation of labor and subimperialism.