POLITICAL PARTIES

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POLITICAL PARTIES THE LATIN AMERICAN POLITY
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INTEREST AGGREGATION or the Combining of Demands

• An activity process
• Backed by resources
• Can be performed by
• Individual or
• group
• Political party the dominant form

3
INSTITUTIONAL GROUPS INTEREST AGGREGATION

• Institutional groups with a history as
  aggregators of political interests
• Religious denominations (especially Roman
  Catholic Church in Latin America)
• Military organizations
• Bureaucracy (Ministry of Public Works)

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Military Second most important Aggregators of
Political Interests in Latin America

• Monopoly of coercive resources
• Goals vary
• Nationalistic development within global
  capitalism (Brazilian model 1964-85)
• Social justice and revolutionary change (Peruvian
  model 1968-79)
• Process of aggregating interests changes the
  military as an institution

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ASSOCIATIONAL GROUPS AS INTEREST AGGREGATORS

• Composed of associations of institutions
• Examples include
• Peasant confederations
• Labor confederations
• Middle class groups (civic associations)
• Urban Poor (Bolivarian Circles in contemporary
  Venezuela)

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In Latin America

• Political parties are the most important
  institutions involved in interest aggregation
• Nineteenth century political parties founded by
  elite groups in competition with other factions
  of the traditional big three
• Conservatives
• Liberals

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Contemporary Latin America

• Most contemporary political parties and party
  systems emerged following periods of military
  rule
• Traditional Conservatives and Liberals destroyed
• Exception Colombia - 19th century Conservative
  and Liberal political parties continue to
  dominate the system of political parties

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Rise of Contemporary Political Parties in Latin
America

• Middle sectors in the Southern Cone gained
  visibility during first decade of Twentieth
  Century
• Gave rise to reformist political parties
• Radicals in Argentina Chile
• Colorados Blancos in Uruguay
• Some with international ties
• Communist parties
• Socialist parties

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Mexican Revolution 1917
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Revolution Led to establishment of Revolutionary
Institutional Party (PRI) in 1928

• Mass based party with a revolutionary agenda
• tempered with passage of time
• Aspired to include all classes (polyclasista)
• Control consolidated by Lázaro Cardenas
• Ruled Mexico for more than 70 years (until 2000)

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Emergence of Contemporary Political Parties in
Latin America Center-Left Tradition I

• Haya de la Torre APRA

• Growth of the middle sectors throughout Western
  Hemisphere in 1920s and 1930s led to the
  founding of a new group of mass based political
  parties
• APRA in Peru (Indo-America)
• Most Focused on national concerns
• PLN in Costa Rica
• AD in Venezuela

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Emergence of Contemporary Political Parties in
Latin America II.

• Christian Democratic parties appeared in 1930s
  and 1940s
• Varying degrees of clerical orientation
• Led by pro-clerical middle class
• Greatest successes in Venezuela, Chile Costa
  Rica

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Emergence of Contemporary Political Parties in
Latin America III.

• Nationalist parties based on strong personalities
  who established linkages to disadvantaged sectors
• Peronism in 1940s (Argentina)
• Velasco Ibarra in 1940s (Ecuador)
• Chavismo in 1990s (Venezuela)

• Evita Peron addresses crowd
• of 2,000000

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Political Party Systems differ from Political
Parties

• Political party systems include
• Constellation of individual political parties
• Relationships among the political parties
• Types of party systems (first cut)
• Non-competitive
• Competitive

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Party Systems Structured by Elections and Voting
Procedures

• Universal suffrage widespread by the end of the
  twentieth century
• Voting often compulsory
• Plural vs. proportional representation
• Electoral turnout
• Simultaneity of national and regional elections

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National and Regional Institutions of Government
also Structure Party Systems

• Strong national political institutions favor
  national party system
• Single Member Districts vs. proportional
  representation
• Decentralization opens way for regional political
  parties

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PARTY SYSTEMS CAN BE NON-COMPETITIVE

• Mexican party system until 2000
• Argentine party system between 1946 1955
• Emerging Venezuelan party system of the Fifth
  Republic

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Competitive Party Systems more than one
political party has possibility of winning

• Majoritarian
• Multiparty
• Attitudes toward regime
• Consensual,
• Conflictual
• Consociational

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Political Parties in Government

• Pass and implement legislation
• Use of negotiations, bargaining, and competition
• Form coalitions in order to govern
• Some accountability expected in democracies

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Characteristics of Interest Aggregation by
Political Parties In Latin America

• Restrains and limits the impact of political
  culture
• Alters (or exacerbates?) the amount of
  polarization
• In comparison with dictatorial control
  aggregation by political parties tends to be
  supportive of
• Freedom
• Participation
• Stability

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Trends in Political Party and Party System
Evolution

• More democracy?
• Representative
• Direct
• Movement away from single party systems?
• Decline of ideology?
• Special case of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia