The Road Back to Serfdom: Solidarity Economies on the Periphery of Fortaleza, Brazil, 1970-2016

A case study of the Palmas Bank project, on the periphery of Fortaleza, Brazil, explores the contradictions inherent in the country's solidarity economy project. The solidarity economy, rooted in the local practices of the liberation theology movement, can hardly be seen as a human or alternative economy because its proximity to party politics through funding and the institutionalization of the movement has affected not only its long-term social sustainability but also its capacity for a political voice. The study sheds light on the challenges of grassroots organizing under progressive regimes at a moment when the end of the Pink Tide in Latin America has obliged activists seeking more sustainable forms of community organization to learn from the past.