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: In that sense, it has performed an inclusionary role more often than European populists, which arrive at the picture in moments when (at least in Western Europe), we don’t have countries where very large portions of the population are almost completely absent from the political process. On the other hand, those on the streets protesting Chavismo these days might have a different opinion on whether they feel very much included in Maduro’s idea of a Venezuelan people. Santiago de Chile – Spring 2016
2) Under which conditions populist actors usually take power in Latin American countries: high unemployment, malfunctioning of democratic mechanisms, or discrimination of minorities? BC: Economic issues seem to have little to do with the rise of populism in Latin America, especially when we talk about the recent “pink wave” of left-populists from the 2000’s. While they’re often explained as a reaction to liberal economic policies adopted in the continent during the previous decade, most research shows that the main determinants of populists’ success are in fact dissatisfaction with political institutions, led by the endemic corruption and/or bad governance observed in throughout the region. SR: Indeed, the rise of populism in Latin America after the Third Wave of Democratization has been closely related to declining trust levels in core representative institutions like parliaments and political parties since the 1990s, the so called “crisis of representation”. Hence, most successful populists in the region came to power against the background of a power vacuum in their political party systems – the most paradigmatic examples are Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Alberto Fujimori in Peru and Rafael Correa in Ecuador.