Populism and Democracy

Populists continue to gain ground around the world. In fact, the four most populous democracies have elected populist regimes: Narendra Modi in India; Donald Trump in the United States; Joko Widodo in Indonesia; and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Under this premise, Jascha Mounk and Jordan Kyle decided to revise the nature and the impact of this phenomenon with the intent of understanding whether we are facing a democratic setback without precedents or a healthy reckoning of global elites by the people (The Populist Harm to Democracy: An Empirical Assessment. www.institute.global). Mounk and Kyle consulted 66 publications in political science, sociology and regional studies, political leaders, and experts in each country or region identifying that 46 populist leaders or political parties have held power in 33 democratic countries from 1990 to the present.

1. To start with, and despite their differences, populist governments emphasize two basic arguments. The first one is that elites and ‘outsiders’ are working against the interests of the ‘true people.’ The second one is that they are the voice of the ‘true people’ and nothing should stand in their way.

2. Populists adore power. In average, populist leaders remain in office twice as much time in comparison to other democratically elected leaders. They are also five times more likely to stay in office for more than 10 years.

3. When they leave office, they do it in dramatic circumstances. Only 34% of populist leaders have left office after free and credible elections or respecting their countries’ legal parameters; the rest have been forced to resign, have been impeached, or have not left.

4. Populists dislike democratic institutions. In average, these leaders are four times more likely to attack democratic institutions (23%) than non-populist governments (6%).

5. To fulfill their mission, populists attempt to eliminate check and balances as well as expand Executive power. More than half of populist leaders have modified the constitution in order to extend their mandate’s terms, to weaken government branches, or to nullify the opposition. The data presented by Mounk and Kyle shows that this attack on the rule of law leads to higher corruption levels and lower rankings in international corruption indexes.

6. Populists suppress individual rights. Under these regimes, freedom of the press has declined 7%, civil liberties have dropped 8%, and political rights have decreased 13%.

Although the evidence shows that populist governments, both from the left and the right, are a real threat to democracy, we should not give in. We must be willing to take action from two different fronts: one is to acknowledge and listen the legitimate claims of society and the second is to defend democratic institutions. That is the only way democracies can survive.

This article was originally published in Spanish on El Heraldo de Mexico...