A New Perspective on Bolivian Populism

Abstract

Since assuming office in January 2006, Bolivian President Evo Morales has been hailed as a populist by media and academic sources alike. Yet, scholarly theories have indicated that populism is unviable in office. This thesis will utilize a case study of Morales' presidency to test hypotheses of populist routinization. After establishing a working definition of populism, it will compare a baseline sample of Morales' prepresidency discourse to a second sample taken after his transition to power to determine whether the "essence" of populism has indeed been compromised. Ultimately, this thesis argues that theories of routinization are incorrect: although the characteristics of Morales' populism change after assuming the presidency, his appeals to and identification with common sense and ordinary values actually grow stronger in office.