In Latin America, with the end of the ambitious economic policies of the last twenty years, a treacherous resignation can creep into theories and practices of the left movements and parties. Two general answers seem possible: to accept the economic system as given and waiting for structural and radical changes, as claimed by Frank, or interpreting the economic system as a contingent and contradictory process, according to the indications of Hirschman. The possibilities of ransom for progressive and socialists’ economic policies can depend on the way to elaborate the recent defeats.