Counter-oligarchy: popular sector organisations and democracy in Latin America

Latin America’s longest period of sustained democracy has produced limited gains in the quality of democracy. We argue that there are obstacles to democratic deepening that lie not primarily at the level of the political regime but rather in state–society relations. These include oligarchic modes of rule in which the pursuit of private interests corrupts democratic representation. We introduce the concept of patrimonial electoral organisations (PEOs) as an example of oligarchic modes of rule. By rendering mechanisms of representation ineffectual, PEOs neutralise redistributive reforms and hinder the provision of public goods. Conversely, democratic reforms depend on autonomous popular organisations (APOs) that mobilise supporters around egalitarian programmatic goals. We examine these claims through an in-depth analysis of Peru, and contrast its trajectory with that of other cases in the region.