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: For one, he came to power in the aftermath of Hugo Chavez’ death and through an electoral process that has been labeled as highly flawed by international observers. Second, populism in its essence is (radical) democratic – at least in a Rousseauan sense – where power should ultimately rest in ‘the people’. As soon as power is used to oppress opposition forces and constrain individual liberties we are more in the area of competitive authoritarianism than populist democracy. BC: Not necessarily a typical populist reaction. There’s never been a politician who willfully took the blame for conducting their country to chaos. Even less so authoritarian ones. It’s always the circumstances, foreign powers, internal saboteurs, etc. That’s how Putin reacts to Russia’s economic