Abstract

This thesis is an examination of the similarities and differences between ex-President Alberto Fujimori of Peru and President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela using the literature on populism to provide a comparative framework. It compares both presidents, in a qualitative manner, by examining the socio-political context in both countries, the causes for the emergence of both regimes, their ideological and programmatic characteristics, and the consequences they have or might have for their respective countries. The thesis is divided up into six chapters, with an Introduction and Conclusion. In the first chapter, the thesis examines the literature on populism in order to construct an analytic framework. The thesis then goes on, in the following chapter, to analyse the historical context from which both presidents emerged. In Chapter 3, the economic and social performance of each presidency is investigated and examined, assessing the extent to which each provides the popular classes of their respective countries with a means to participate in these areas of national life. The fourth chapter presents the strategies used by both presidents to gain and maintain power in their respective countries. The relative authoritarianism and democratic characteristics of each president in analysed and assessed in the following chapter, measuring also the extent to which the people of each country participate politically in their country's affairs. In the final chapter the impact and consequences of each president on the respective case countries is examined.