Abstract

WELP, Yanina. Where there is a will, there’s not always a way: Populist leadership, referendums and reelections. Rev. Mex. Sociol [online]. 2023, vol.85, n.spe2, pp.39-66.  Epub Sep 30, 2023. ISSN 2594-0651.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iis.01882503p.2023.2ne.60982.

This article analyzes six cases in which populist presidents tried to extend their terms of office and promoted or faced referendums with contrasting outcomes -reaching or not the vote and the reelection. The analysis shows that outcomes are explained not so much by the populist character of a president as by the degree of institutionalization of the political party system, the quality of the rule of law, the distribution of power among actors, and their popular support. The cases are Argentina (Carlos Menem), Bolivia (Evo Morales), Colombia (Álvaro Uribe), Honduras (Juan Manuel Zelaya), Peru (Alberto Fujimori) and Venezuela (Hugo Chávez).

Keywords : populism; referendum; democracy; political parties; institutions; popular support.

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