Argentina. Peronism and Inclusionary Populist Adaptation to the Pandemic,

LODOLA, GERMÁN; PERELMITER, LUISINA

Populists and the Pandemic: How Populists Around the World Respond to COVID-19.

Routledge

Lugar: London; Año: 2022; p. 57 - 67

Within the complex political space of Argentine Peronism and in a hyperpolarized context, Alberto Fernández was about as un-populist as one could find. His candidacy was a deliberate sign of moderation for the party and the electorate; it was an attempt to temper deep rivalries and then make Peronism a unified viable project. However, as moderate as he is, Fernández still had to navigate the storm at the head of a political party regarded as synonymous with Latin American populism, and he had to do so in alliance with the party’s key populist leader (and vice president) and the manifestly populist current that she leads. This chapter examines how the Fernández administration followed a markedly different approach to the crisis from that of other well-known populist governments. However, we claim that the Argentine government’s response to the pandemic was still populist, but of a very different sort, rooted in the political logic and ideational framing of left-wing (inclusionary) populism.