¿Por qué funciona el populismo?

If populism is not dead, if it is "insufferably alive," it is because it works. And its effectiveness is largely due to the fact that it offers a convincing way to explain the world, reflect citizens' concerns and fears, and propose a concrete solution. In other words, it sustains a discourse, a story with heroes and villains that gives meaning to a reality that, in the 21st century, seems to have lost it. This applies equally to Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales and Néstor and Cristina Kirchner, as well as to Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and the leaders of far-right parties in Austria, Hungary and Sweden. It applies equally to the people who mobilize against the IMF as to those who do so against immigrants.

Based on an exhaustive analysis of political speeches by Latin American presidents from the beginning of the 21st century, and contemporary leaders from the United States and Europe, María Esperanza Casullo –political scientist, university professor, specialist in democracy and party systems– shows how, in the South and in the North, in solid economies and in unequal nations, the "populist myth" constructs an idea of the people, points out their enemies, and proposes actions to redeem a country betrayed by internal and external forces that try to divert it from its destiny of success.

If populism is not dead, if it is "insufferably alive," it is because it works. And its effectiveness is largely due to the fact that it offers a convincing way to explain the world, reflect citizens' concerns and fears, and propose a concrete solution. In other words, it sustains a discourse, a story with heroes and villains that gives meaning to a reality that, in the 21st century, seems to have lost it. This applies equally to Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales and Néstor and Cristina Kirchner, as well as to Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and the leaders of far-right parties in Austria, Hungary and Sweden. It applies equally to the people who mobilize against the IMF as to those who do so against immigrants.

Based on an exhaustive analysis of political speeches by Latin American presidents from the beginning of the 21st century, and contemporary leaders from the United States and Europe, María Esperanza Casullo –political scientist, university professor, specialist in democracy and party systems– shows how, in the South and in the North, in solid economies and in unequal nations, the "populist myth" constructs an idea of the people, points out their enemies, and proposes actions to redeem a country betrayed by internal and external forces that try to divert it from its destiny of success.