The Socialist-Populist Chilean Experience, 1970-1973

Bulletin of Latin American Research, 2000

Contemporary manifestations of`neopopulisma are situated in an analysis of the role of political institutions in capitalist societies, and the idea of structural and institutional crisis. It is argued that`populista and`neopopulista discourse alike must be understood in terms of their relationship to speci"c conjunctural projects for the reorientation of capitalist reproduction. This approach directs attention back to the contrasting conjunctures in which classical populist and contemporary neopopulist political projects were launched. It also provides a basis on which contemporary projects which adopt elements of populist strategy and discourse can be compared and evaluated. : S 0 2 6 1 -3 0 5 0 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 7 6 -5

The introduction of economic reforms often hurts entrenched vested interests, which had prospered under state-led evelopment. For the ruling political party that introduces reforms, alienating such interests results in loss of political support and jeopardises re-election prospects. One approach (labeled the “electoral politics†approach) suggests that the ruling party should be nimble enough to create new coalition partners, composed of the beneficiaries of the reforms process, to counter those who lose from the process. The experiences of Argentina and Mexico of employing this strategy are discussed and contrasted with the Indian experience. The paper criticizes this approach on the grounds that following such a strategy ushers in no change from the state-led strategy: interest group politics continues to dominate to the exclusion of vast sections of the population, who may not benefit from the reforms process. An alternative approach (labeled the “public interest†approach)...

with certain populist leaders; such as Hugo Chávez" claim to represent "a new socialism of the 21 st century." In practice, however, populist reforms have to date fallen far short of ushering in socialist revolution. A closer look at the recent record of populist governments in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela suggests that popular forces are demanding not the dismantling of market economies, but a transformation of the rules that presently rig market outcomes in favor of concentrated interests. The result is a distinctive ensemble of policies that differ strikingly from either the old nationalist, statist populism of an earlier era or the neo-liberalism of recent decades.

2007

The state of anomie that has characterised and still characterises most Latin American countries, resulting from the fragmentation of the social fabric, has encouraged the rise of successful personalist leaderships in the '90s. This paper aims at investigating how neopopulism developed in Latin America, considering as main actors the two Presidents who have best embodied this ideal: Carlos Salinas de Gortari, (Mexico 1988(Mexico -1994 and Carlos Menem (Argentina 1989(Argentina -1999. Neopopulism is based on an economic project, the neoliberal policy based on cuts in the welfare, which seems very far from the populist positions of the past. Populism revives through the charisma of these Presidents, bypassing institutional or organisational forms of mediation between the leader and the masses. The development of selected social policies has gained strong political support from the lower classes, including extensive institutional reforms.

There has been a renewed interest in populism in Latin America, sparked by the social mobilization against neoliberalism usually referred to as the 'Pink Tide'. Governments brought to power by the Pink Tide have been successful in reconstructing the conditions of capital accumulation as well as incorporating a new set of social movement demands. This article puts forward an interpretation of 'Pink Tide neopopulism' based on a political economy approach. It argues that the two factors of a crisis of neoliberalism in the region and the existence of social movements with unmet demands are not enough to explain the rise and demise of populism. The commodity boom needs to be added as an enabling condition for these transformations. By revisiting the debate in Latin America and proposing a different reading, the article redefines an overloaded term and provides a new analytical viewpoint from which to understand the 'historical task' of populism in Brazil and Argentina.

Latin American populism may enter into a new transformation in order to achieve more stability and will not seek that transformation in the more aggressively antiliberal alternatives such as Chavism and even less in dusty Castrism. It is likely that Latin American politics will embrace the welfare state.

Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 2006

Bulletin of Latin American Research, 2000

Latin American Politics and Society, 2003

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2007