CASTIGO A LOS OFICIALISMOS Y CICLO POLÍTICO DE DERECHA EN AMÉRICA LATINA

Abstract

This article presents a characterization of three type of strategies (non-electoral, non-partisan electoral, and partisan) pursued by the right in contemporary Latin America. By analyzing the recent course of the party systems in the region, we also argue that the so-called turn to the right constitutes a process of power alternation generated by the punishment of incumbents of the last decade and a half (mostly on the left), rather than a structural ideological realignment. This alternation in power occurs in a context, in which established parties tend to disappear or become substantially weaker, and in which short-lived electoral vehicles are gaining traction. Finally, we argue that there does not seem to be space in the region today —especially because of the social crisis associated with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic— for the strengthening of a neoliberal right. However, the current context does seem propitious for the emergence of right-wing outsiders, capable of structuring a pro-order agenda that incorporates, in different proportions, ‘iron-hand’ policies, value conservatism, and market liberalism.