Anti-establishment Identities and Populist Appeals. Evidence from Latin America

• In Event: Populist Attitudes in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

We propose a novel theory that considers that populism can emerge when an anti-establishment political identity exist. This identity denotes an emotional and rational rejection toward all established political parties in a given country. While anti-establishment identifiers are attracted by populist appeals, apartisans –those who lack any positive or negative partisanship- repel any form of politicization including populism. The distinction between anti-establishment identifiers and apartisans reflects two notable sets of attitudes concerning the political parties: repulsion toward the system in the first case, indifference in the second case. The former still expresses a kind of political linkage between the electorate and the party system; the latter conveys a situation of disaffection. These two types of sentiments toward the system are associated with the preference/aversion of populist projects. We have collected original public opinion data from Chile, Brazil, Honduras, and Mexico that supports our argument.

Author

• Carlos Melendez, Universidad Diego Portales