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The "Third Populist Wave" of Latin America

31/10/2007 By Susanne Gratius

The return of democracy in Latin America has not brought the end of populism. Indeed populist politics seem to be experiencing a boom at the beginning of the 21st century.

In contrast to other parts of the World, Latin America has seen populism take centre stage not only in the streets, but also in the halls of power.

Despite its authoritarian tendencies, it coexists with a framework of formal democracy. And thanks to its long history in government, and as a hybrid between democracy and authoritarianism, it can almost be regarded as a political regime in its own right, representing another stage in the process of democracy and state building in the region.

From the perspective of current political realities on the continent, this Working Paper analyses the phenomenon of populism in Latin America and its relationship with democracy.

With this aim in mind, the first chapter, which is more general in character, identifies the common elements that define populism and its ambiguous relationship with democracy.

The document then differentiates, in terms of public policies and political tendencies, between the three populist “waves” or projects in Latin America and explores the principal characteristics of the governments of Hugo Chávez, Rafael Correa, Evo Morales and Néstor Kirchner.

The third chapter compares these four cases and finds that the current move towards populism in Latin America is a response to the crises of democracy and the state, which tend to weaken the former and strengthen the latter.

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Keywords

Argentina Bolivia Democracy Ecuador Ideology Latin America & Caribbean Populism Venezuela

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Bio author: Susanne Gratius

Latin America. Emerging powers. Brazil. Cuba. Venezuela. EU-Latin American relations.