Resistance to Populism (R&R)

Populist leaders mobilize supporters to accomplish the political transformations they seek to achieve. However, once they are in office, populist leaders also encounter mobilizations against them because of their exclusionary rhetoric as well as their attack on existing democratic norms. Therefore, an increase in mobilizations under a populist leader can also be seen as resistance to populism. Based on panel data analysis across 18 Latin American countries for the period 1990-2018, we find that populist rhetoric triggers a higher level of pro-democratic protests when it is combined with a populist leader’s rejection of democratic norms. The findings are discussed in line with the political consequences of populism in contemporary Latin America.