The Role of Social Movements in Electoral Politics in Latin America

By Gemma McNulty

Social movement-political party relations are an increasingly pertinent phenomenon, not just in Latin America but also in peripheral parts of Europe, countries in the Middle East affected by the Arab Spring, and in and the United States with the Tea Party Movement. Despite this trend, few empirical studies exist which examine the dynamics of the relationship between movements and parties, and the impact of this relationship on electoral politics in particular. This book provides original insight into the relationship between movements and parties over two electoral cycles in both Bolivia and Peru between 2002 and 2012.

Using original data, comprising of over fifty field interviews with indigenous movement leaders and members, as well as leading politicians in Bolivia and Peru, the book describes the relationship between indigenous movements and the left in both countries. The interviews are combined with electoral results at both the national and sub-national level to investigate the impact of movement-party relationships on presidential elections. Each chapter concludes with an overview of movement-party relations across the elections over time. Like many political alliances, these relationships tend to fall apart or evolve once the allied party becomes the governing party. The book takes this into consideration thereby offering a comprehensive study of alliances over time and greatly contributing to the field.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138233870
• ISBN13: 9781138233874
• Release Date: December 2023
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 196 Pages