Peronism and the birth of modern populism

ENRIQUE PERUZZOTTI

Conferencia; The building of a populist democracy: Lessons from Latin America; 2019

Waseda University

Latin America has been the breeding ground for aparticular interpretation of democratic ideals: modernpopulism. While populism has been a constantfeature of politics, the concept of modern populismrefers to a historically delimited concept that aroseat the beginning of what is generally referred to as?the second democratizing wave? (Huntington 1991).Modern populism represents a specific democratizingpath that resulted in processes of social and politicalincorporation through an electoral regime that departedin significant ways from the liberal representativecanon that was being promoted by the triumphalAllied Powers in the aftermath of the Second WorldWar. Modern populism proposed an alternative path atdemocratic institutionalization from that of the liberalmodel. It arose at a particular historical juncturemarked on the one hand, by the defeat of fascism andon the other hand, by the rise to prominence of thetwo regimes that would confront each other during theCold War period: liberal democracy and communistdictatorship. Modern populism sought to positionitself as a third way, one that could successfullypromote the social and political incorporation of the popular sectors. Modern populism then establisheditself as the foremost democratic challenger of liberalrepresentative democracy. It is a presence that hauntsrepresentative politics, particularly in times of crisis.The relevance of modern populism can be seentoday as populism has extended well beyond theregion where it was born. Populist movements aregaining traction in old and new democracies alike. Anew generation of populist leaders have come to powerin very different national settings and are committedto bring the ideal of populist democracy to life. FromVenezuela to Hungary, populist administrations haveengaged in processes of constitution-making and/or legislative reforms with the goal of re-foundingdemocracy on a new basis. This article traces thegenealogy of a model of democracy that arose inLatin America in the mid-1940s and that has attainedsignificant momentum in today?s politics.