Crisis, Party Adaptation and Regime Stability in Argentina

Abstract

The economic crises and adjustment processes of the last decade have fundamentally challenged Latin American parties, altering established policy parameters and straining traditional social coalitions. The question of whether or not established parties successfully adapt to these changes is critical to democratic stability, for when parties fail and party systems decompose, democratic regimes often become vulnerable. This article examines a case of successful party adaptation: the (Peronist) Justicialista Party (PJ) in Argentina. Since 1989, a Peronist government has implemented a set of neoliberal reforms that run directly counter to Peronism's traditional populist program. Yet despite this shift, the PJ has retained its mass base. After briefly outlining the internal changes in the PJ since the mid-1980s, the article seeks to explain the party's adaptive capacity. It argues that the PJ's adaptation was facilitated by a distinctive configuration of organizational features: an under-institutionalized party hierarchy and an entrenched mass base. This combination of features permitted rapid change at the party leadership level, while at the same time helping to ensure a stable base of support.