Argentina: Radical or Moderate Democracy?

Bacon, Kathleen

Argentina: Radical or Moderate Democracy?

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/26409

Author(s)

Bacon, Kathleen

Date Issued

April 11, 2012

Abstract

In recent years, the presidencies of Latin America have experienced a significant shift to the left in terms of economic, social and political policy. As the left emerged it began to separate into two sections. Scholars have categorized these as the radical and moderate left. Clear cases of the radical left include Venezuela and Bolivia, while cases of the moderate left include Brazil and Chile. Argentina however, has not been clearly defined as a radical or moderate leftist government. The presidencies of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner represented the shift to the lift in Argentina’s government. While the Kirchners share a similar history and economic policy with that of moderate presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of Brazil, they also share several policy characteristics with the radical presidency of Evo Morales, of Bolivia. The Kirchners took a pragmatic view when dealing with radical and moderate democracies within the region. Rather than aligning with one ideology or the other, the Kirchners have chosen to align themselves with both sides in a way that is most advantageous to their country. While the classification of Latin American countries sometimes leads to a categorization of “good” and “bad” countries, these definitions are important in gaining insight into the policies of leftist democracies within the region.

First Reader(s)

Mattiace, Shannan