The Populism of Chavismo and Fujimorismo: A Demand-Side Perspective

• In Event: New Perspectives on Populism

Abstract

There is widespread agreement that chavismo and fujimorismo represent prominent cases of 21st century populism in Latin America (see, e.g., Roberts 2007 and Weyland 2013). These populist movements have received extensive treatment from the perspective of their leaders (a supply-side approach). Much less work, however, has been done to understand them from the demand-side, or from the perspective of their supporters. This paper addresses this gap. It uses original survey data to compare chavistas and fujimoristas. It argues, in line with existing research, that the nature and effect of the populist attitudes of chavistas and fujimoristas vary, in part, because of the distinct ideological preferences of the party politicians that represent them in government. It further finds, however, that supporters of each movement transcend formal party organization: there are more movement than party supporters in each case. The study concludes that linking populist attitudes to party preferences (e.g. Akkerman, et al. 2014) is an important, but not an exclusive, channel for understanding populist attitudes and their potential impact on democratic regimes.

Author

• Jennifer M Cyr, University of Arizona