La resurgence du populisme en Bolivie“Conscience de la Patrie” ou la construction de nouvelles identités urbaines dans un contexte compétitif

Abstract

This study examines the relevance of two assumptions held by theories of Latin- American populism to the study of the so called neo-populist movements. One, being a popular attachment to traditional values, presented by some as premodern, and the other, being a lack of popular class conscience. This will be approached addressing the electoral mobilisation of the Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), a Bolivian political party founded in 1988 following the closure of the media belonging to its leader Carlos Palenque. This study of Condepism does not validate the hypothesis that popular mobilisation is synonymous with a resistance to change. Neither does it validate the opposite, that is to say, the uniformization of apathetic masses subject to the influence of mass media. Rather, it intends to demonstrate that even though those who are the most discriminated against are also the most likely to vote for CONDEPA. Within this category, those who are better integrated into the urban universe where they adopt individual strategies towards social progress, are more inclined to support the party. The “autonomy” of these Condepists, despite their allegiance to a hierarchical party, belies the narrow perception held by some, that the social reality does nothing but perpetuate inequality. On the contrary, an analysis of the relationship between the leader and his supporters reveals that their identification with “Radio Televisión Popular”, CONDEPA or Carlos Palenque enables them to forge a sense of order out of an uncertain social reality. All this is situated in a competitive context of erosion of collective identities.

Keywords

• Bolivia
• El Alto
• sociology
• populism
• CONDEPA
• Party Identification