21 century socialism's trial with neoliberalism in Latin America: Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador

The aim of this thesis is to understand whether it is or not 21st century socialism, which is formulated by Heinz Dieterich, constitutes an alternative to neoliberal policies. Venezuela, the country where 21st century socialism was first implemented, followed by Bolivia and Ecuador, which preferred this model with elected presidents, were chosen as model countries for the thesis. In the study, the history of Latin America has been examined in general and the results of the colonial period, the US influence and neoliberal policies have been analyzed. In the thesis study, it has been evaluated whether the unequal economic, political and social conditions from the past have been overcome by 21st century socialism in a region following a different development pro-cess from Europe. David Harvey's criticism of neoliberal theory has formed the basis for the thesis. In the thesis study, history, sociology, law and economics data were used, field research was made, and the information and observations obtained were transferred in the thesis. As a result of the study, it was concluded that 21st century socialism created a consciousness in these Latin American societies, changed these societies and became a preferable alternative to neoliberal policies.