ABSTRACT
The growth and appeal of populism in Latin America resulted directly from the harsh social and economic realities of the 1930s, rural–urban migratory patterns, and the expansion of cities in the region. Populism marked a new way to conduct politics in Latin America. Populism in Latin America was a creative, organic solution to pressing and mounting economic, social, and political troubles on the continent: In four places—Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru—populist leaders had immense influence in charting national politics and transitioning societies through difficult times. Latin American populism was a form of social control whereby a charismatic leader would control the state and distribute patronage to the people yet avoid a major reordering of society via the revolutionary process. Populists helped change Latin American politics and society in the twentieth century; they challenged traditional elites to distribute resources more justly, while defending the popular classes against the more extreme effects of unregulated capitalist expansion.
