Populism Latin America

With over 190 nations in our world, each nation has their form of governance. With each form of governance, comes a different set of successes and struggles. The development of each nation is unique to its region as each region faces different factors that have shaped them to what they are today. These factors include, but are not limited to, their natural resources, their economic sectors, and their social structure. Latin America is a region with unique development. The history of Latin America has been tumultuous as it faces cultural, economic, and political changes that contribute to mold the region to what it is today. The world is watching Venezuela as it is coming close to a collapse due to the economic and social conditions that are

In the past century, the region underwent different forms of governance. Authoritarian regimes, democratic governments, military dictatorships, and populism have all taken root in Latin American politics. Of these types, the most prominent and influential figures were known to be populist leaders. Populist stand out compared to other ordinary politicians as they tend to have characteristic traits of being bold, daring, and displaying a vast amount of nationalistic pride. Although the effect of populist leaders in Latin America has not always been in positive light, it is commonly agreed on the prodigious impact populism has had in Latin

The first form is a moderate form of the left, this is known as neoliberal neopopulism. Neopopulism was present in Argentina under Carlos Menem, Brazil with Fernando Collor de Mello, in Ecuador under Abdalá Bucaram as well as in Peru under Alberto Fujimori. Neopopulism saw a gamut of degrees of success since some leaderships lasted for half a year while others such as Carlos Menem and Alberto Fujimori were reelected. The second form of populism that remerges is far-out and is known as radical populism. An example of radical populism would be Bolivia under Evo Morales and in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez. To understand populism and its different forms, it is important to compare the similarities that are present as well as contrast the differences that makes each