Author Description

For anyone wishing a succinct and theoretically sophisticated concept-building analysis of populist rhetoric and leadership style... this book should be one your shelf."--Latin American Research Review. "In this substantially expanded edition, Carolos de la Torre extends his insightful analysis of Latin American populism in general, and Ecuadorian populism in particular, to the current government of Rafael Correa. He skillfully demonstrates the ambiguities of populist experience, which combine political mass involvement and top-down control, and hover between authoriatarianism and democracy. An excellent book!"--Kurt Weyland, author of the Politics of Market Reform in Fragile Democracies. Is Latin America experiencing a resurgence of left-wing governments, or are we seeing a rebirth of national radical populism? Are the governments of Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, and Rafael Correa becoming institutionalized as these leaders claim novel models of participatory and direct democracy? Or are they reenacting older tratditions that have favored plebiscitary acclamation and clientelist distribution of resources to loyal followers? Are we seeing authentic forms of expression of the popular will by leaders who have empowered those previously disenfranchised? Or are these governments as charismatic, authoritarian and messtanic as their populist prederessors? This new and expanded edition of Populist Seduction in Latin America explores the ambiguous relationships between democracy and populism and brings de la Torre's earlier work up to date, comparing classical nationalist populist regimes of the 1940s, as those of Juan Peron and Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra, whith their contemporary noeoliberal and radical successors, De la Torre explores their similarities and differences, focusing on their discourses and uses of political symbols and myths. --Book Jacket.