Is There an Ideological Link Between Neopopulism and Neoliberalism?

ABSTRACT This paper deals with the resurgence of populism in Latin America, and particularly with the ideological underpinnings of this phenomenon. Quite unexpectedly, populism has reemerged in several countries, such as Argentina and Peru, in the wake of drastic and all-encompassing neoliberal reforms. This novel situation calls for a reinterpretation of the populist phenomenon. The author contends that neoliberalism and neopopulism have established a strong link at the ideological level. In order to provide empirical evidence for this hypothesis, a corpus of Carlos Menem’s presidential discourse has been analyzed. The author concludes by suggesting that neoliberalism itself tends to stir up populist tendencies in society.

摘要：本文聚焦拉丁美洲民粹主义的复兴现象，尤其探讨该现象的意识形态根基。出人意料的是，在激进且全面的新自由主义（neoliberalism）改革浪潮过后，阿根廷、秘鲁等多国相继重现民粹主义思潮。这一全新态势亟需对民粹主义现象进行重新阐释。作者主张，新自由主义与新民粹主义（neopopulism）在意识形态层面已形成紧密联结。为给这一假说提供实证依据，本文对卡洛斯·梅姆的总统演讲语料库（corpus）展开了分析。文末作者进一步提出，新自由主义本身往往会催生社会中的民粹主义倾向。