FROM THE LOSS OF LEGITIMACY TO POLARIZATION: the parties and party systems of Argentina and Venezuela

The paper updates the classifications of Coppedge (1997) for the parties of Argentina and Venezuela, adding to the original dimensions of left-right and Christian or secular three others, programmatic or clientelistic, materialistic or post-materialistic and ethnic electoral appeal. To do so, it is based on the literature and on an expert survey. One conclusion is that there was little variation in relation to Coppedge’s assessments, with the main parties located around the center, except for the PSUV in Venezuela, which was classified as secular left. Regarding the party systems, the two countries have transited from the legitimacy loss of its traditional parties until the early 2000s to scenarios characterized at the time of this classification by polarization around the adhesion or opposition to kirchnerismo or chavismo. Unlike the Venezuelan case, the polarization in Argentina was more between supporting or opposing the government of each moment than in ideological terms.