Lights and Shadows of Latin American Populism

Session Submission Type: LASA Section Panel

Abstract

The first decade of the millennium was marked by a generalized sense of promise in emerging markets, which experienced relatively higher rates of economic growth and easier access to foreign exchange. Latin America additionally witnessed a wave of elected left-leaning governments who took advantage of the positive international scenario and carried out a variety of populist policies. Such new strand of populism, also known as neopopulism, may include the traditional cult of personality and emphasis on wealth redistribution, but it differs from the past considering these governments’ greater concern with diminishing their countries’ economic vulnerabilities to external shocks. This panel’s goal is to evaluate some of Latin America’s neopopulist flagship policies, with the additional intent to encourage a policy debate about a not-so-distant past

Sub Track

• Section Sessions

Chair

• Monica Arruda de Almeida, Georgetown University

Discussant

• Anthony P Spanakos, Montclair State University

Individual Presentations

• Partisan political cycles and inequality in Latin America: the cases of Brazil, Chile and Mexico - Fabrício H Chagas-Bastos, The University of Melbourne

• From Cooptation to Unfair Competition, the Role of “National Champions” during the Workers’ Party Years - Monica Arruda de Almeida, Georgetown University

• The Diversity of Income Inequality within Latin America: Exploring links between Economics and Politics - Diego Sánchez-Ancochea, University of Oxford