Title: Populism in Latin America: a double interview – POP
Headings: Populism in Latin America: a double interview
Populism in Latin America: a double interview
Content: Thus, country contexts matter with respect to the representation gap that enables political actors to mobilize with a populist appeal, but this is not necessarily predetermined according to regions. Bruno Castanho: The specific ideas of people and elites vary not only across the regions, but also widely within the regions – depending on the country, host ideology (left populists have different targets than right populists), and so on, so it is difficult to give a clear picture simply of who is the people or the elites in the two regions. The question of whether one is inclusionary while the other is exclusionary also hinges much on the examples chosen, and what one refers to. SR: A more relevant difference is not necessarily the regional divide but the spread of different systems of government which overlaps with the regional pattern: presidentialism vs. parliamentarism. This, in my opinion, is the main reason why populists have been more successful in forming majority governments and controlling the presidency in Latin American countries compared to coalition governments in European countries (with a few notable exceptions). BC: On the one hand, it is true that populist movements in Latin America have often been associated with expanding political enfranchisement to marginalized groups – that’s been true for Vargas and Peron empowering urban workers in the 30’s and 40’s Brazil and Argentina, or for Evo Morales reaching out to the Indigenous majority in Bolivia in the 2000’s.