Date of Award
2009
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Hicks, Barbara
Keywords
Latin America, Populism, Bolivarian Revolution
Area of Concentration
International and Area Studies
Abstract
In the years since the turn of the 21st century Latin America has been experiencing an unprecedented rise of leftist, populist leaders. A 2006 article by Jorge Castaneda popularized the dichotomy between the "Bolivarian" left and the moderate, "reformist" left, and subsequent studies have often attempted to explain the emergence of leftist populism in each of its two different incarnations. This study seeks to examine four popular causal factors for the rise of the new populist left and demonstrate how these causal factors are linked. The four factors chosen for the study are: 1) the history of U.S. intervention and human rights abuses in Latin America, 2) the effects of attempted neoliberal reforms in the 1980s and 1990s, 3) the success of indigenous attempts at mobilization, and 4) the degree of point resource dependency. Anti- Americanism, economic inequality and fragmented party systems have resulted from the interactions among these factors and have enabled populist leaders to rise to power. Differing patterns suggest that none of these factors provides a full explanation for the new wave of populists, but the factors work in conjunction with one another to contribute to the election of left-leaning populist leaders.
Recommended Citation
Lynch, Andrea, "An Examination of the Causal Mechanisms Behind Latin America's Populist Revival and Corresponding Move to the Left" (2009). Theses & ETDs. 4146.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4146
Rights
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