Despite a rocky first term, Peronist President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner saw her popularity rebound, leading to a huge reelection victory in 2011. The election served as a reminder of the remarkable durability and ideologically flexible appeal of the Peronist “brand” in Argentine politics. It also showed the ability of what we might call the Kirchnerist center-left sub-brand of Peronism to dominate at the polls given a divided set of rivals, a national economy buoyed by a commodities boom, and a wave of personal sympathy for a recently widowed incumbent.
About the Authors
Ernesto Calvo
Ernesto Calvo is associate professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland-College Park.
María Victoria Murillo is professor of political science and international and public affairs and director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at Columbia University.
The historical record since 1945 gives us a picture of how populists operate once they hold political power. The record shows that populism is inimical to liberal democracy, and not…