Is party loyalty driven by dead leaders? The charismatic legacy of Juan and Eva Perón in contemporary Argentine politics

• In Event: New Perspectives on Populism

Abstract

Do contemporary Argentine leaders use the charismatic legacy of Juan and Eva Perón to activate Peronist loyalty? Conventional wisdom suggests that the political value of charisma fades after the charismatic leader’s death. Yet today, the charismatic legacy of Evita and Perón remains at the center of Argentine politics, suggesting its importance for sustaining the traditional Peronist support base.
This study analyzes the content of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s speeches from 2008 to 2013 to investigate whether she strategically invokes Evita and Perón’s charismatic legacy to galvanize traditional Peronist support. If the conventional wisdom holds that charisma fades over time, the president should not bother mentioning Perón and Evita because it would fail to activate Peronist loyalty. But if leaders’ charisma can endure beyond their lifetimes, references to these movement founders may reinforce followers’ identity with Peronism, strengthening support for the regime especially during periods of low performance.
The results suggest that Perón and Evita’s charismatic legacy remains politically important long after their deaths. The president’s mentions of these leaders do not decline over time; in fact, she mentions Perón and Evita more frequently following months of low government approval. In subsequent months, government approval ratings increase. An in-depth analysis of select speeches shows that Fernández de Kirchner paints vivid images of these leaders as saviors of Argentina, further suggesting that she draws on their charismatic legacy to activate the identity of loyalists and bolster their support for the contemporary Peronist regime

Author

• Caitlin E Andrews, University of Texas at Austin