ABSTRACT
Although previous works have argued persuasively that populism is a recurring phenomenon, rather than a period-specific historical anomaly,2 there is still a tendency to associate it with statist and re distributive policies that are antithetical to neoliberalism. As such, the specter of populism in contemporary Latin America is usually equated with a lower-class backlash against the austerity, inequalities, and market insecurities attendant on neoliberalism.3 Likewise, presidents and finance ministers who implement IMF-approved stabilization plans routine1y pledge to resist the "populist temptation"-that is, the politically expedient but fiscally "irresponsible" increase of government spending to ameliorate the social costs of marke,t reforms. The possibility that populist tendencies could arise within-rather than against--a neoliberal project has yet to be fully explored.
