Raúl Madrid
Associate Professor of Government
University of Texas, Austin
Tuesday, November 17
12:30pm
Hesburgh Center, Room C103
“The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Latin America”
Abstract:
Latin America had long been the one region in the world without major ethnic parties, but in recent years parties based in the indigenous movement have achieved important electoral breakthroughs. In this talk, I argue that the indigenous-based parties have succeeded by combining inclusive ethnic and classical populist appeals. The parties have won the support of indigenous voters by recruiting indigenous candidates, establishing close links with indigenous organizations, and embracing many of the demands and symbols of the indigenous movement. Nevertheless, they have been careful to be inclusive. They have avoided exclusionary rhetoric, forged alliances with many non-indigenous candidates and organizations, and sought to attract the support of voters of all ethnicities through traditional populist methods, such as personalistic, anti-establishment, nationalist, and statist appeals. The inclusive strategy has worked in Latin America because widespread mestizaje in the region has blurred ethnic boundaries and reduced ethnic polarization, making it feasible for indigenous-based parties to win the support of people who do not self-identify as indigenous. Moreover, high levels of disenchantment with the traditional parties and their policies have made many voters receptive to populist appeals. I explore these arguments through an analysis of the trajectory of indigenous-based parties in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Biography
Raúl L. Madrid is an associate professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. The author of Retiring the State: The Politics of Pension Privatization in Latin America and Beyond (Stanford University Press, 2003), his articles on economic and social policy reform, elections and party systems, and ethnic politics in Latin America have appeared in Comparative Politics, Electoral Studies, Journal of Latin American Studies, Latin American Politics and Society, Latin American Research Review, and World Politics. He is currently working on a sole-authored book on the rise of ethnic politics in Latin America, and a coedited volume on the policies and performance of leftist governments in Latin America.
