Political Violence and Populist Appeals

Violence and populism are longstanding features of Latin American political cultures. This panel focuses on how populist appeals operate in contexts of political violence, and vice versa. Papers examine how state and para- state violence open and close spaces for the resonance of populist appeals, right and left, with case studies from across the region. They show how violence and populism can expand, contract, or shift the field of political contestation, and can combine to produce unique political effects. They also emphasize how violence can contradict or legitimate populist promises, and can constitute “the people” of populist discourse.