Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T05:48:42.569Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Corporation-based Parties: The Present and Future of Business Politics in Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

William T. Barndt
William T. Barndt*
Affiliation:
Political studies at Pitzer College. wbarndt@pitzer.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Throughout Latin America, particular business conglomerates have begun to sponsor their own political parties, building those parties on their own corporate assets. These “corporation-based parties” represent a new wave of highly particularized conservative representation in the region. Indeed, corporation-based parties have become a regular—though largely unrecognized—feature of contemporary Latin American party systems. This article develops a theory of how and why particular business conglomerates sponsor their own parties, provides substantial evidence for the existence of corporation-based parties across much of Latin America, and uses a case study of a party built on a Panamanian supermarket chain to demonstrate how such parties are organized. In closing, it discusses the possible future for these parties in the region.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 56 , Issue 3 , Fall 2014 , pp. 1 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aizprúa, Julio Cesar. 2000. Termina venta de acciones del Ingenio La Victoria. La Prensa, August 3.Google Scholar
Angell, Alan, D'Alva Kinzo, Maria, and Urbaneja, Diego. 1992. Latin America. In Electioneering: A Comparative Study of Continuity and Change, ed. Butler, David and Ranney, Austin. Oxford: Clarendon. 43–68.Google Scholar
Baker, Andy. 2009. The Market and the Masses in Latin America: Policy Reform and Consumption in Liberalizing Economies. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barndt, William T. Forthcoming. The Organizational Foundations of Corporation-Based Parties. In Challenges of Party-Building in Latin America, ed. Jorge I. Domínguez, Steven Levitsky, James Loxton, and Brandon Van Dyck.Google Scholar
Boas, Taylor C. 2009. Varieties of Electioneering: Presidential Campaigns in Latin America. Ph.D. diss., University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Boas, Taylor C. 2010. Varieties of Electioneering: Success Contagion and Presidential Campaigns in Latin America. World Politics 62, 4 (October): 636–75.Google Scholar
Camp, Roderic A., 1989. Entrepreneurs and Politics in Twentieth-Century Mexico. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
De la Torre, Carlos, and Conaghan, Catherine. 2009. The Hybrid Campaign: Tradition and Modernity in Ecuador's 2006 Presidential Election. International Journal of Press/Politics 14: 335–52.Google Scholar
Diamond, Larry, and Gunther, Richard. 2001. Types and Functions of Parties. In Political Parties and Democracy, ed. Diamond and Gunther. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 3–39.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper.Google Scholar
Duverger, Maurice. 1964 [1952]. Political Parties: Their Organization and Activity in the Modern State. New York: Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Epstein, Leon. 1980 [1967]. Political Parties in Western Democracies. New Brunswick: Transaction.Google Scholar
La Estrella de Panama (Panama City). 2009. Murcia desata guerra política. March 11. http://www.laestrella.com.pa/mensual/2009/03/11/contenido/74567.asp Google Scholar
Farrell, David M., and Webb, Paul. 2000. Political Parties as Campaign Organizations. In Parties Without Partisans: Political Change in Advanced Industrialized Democracies, ed. Dalton, Russell J. and Wattenberg, Martin P.. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 102–28.Google Scholar
Ford Boyd, Guillermo (Billy). 2009. Second vice President of Panama (1992–94); leader of Molirena and Unión Patriótica parties. Author interview. Panama City, September 17.Google Scholar
Fundación Ricardo Martinelli. 2012. Provincias. www.ricardomartinelli.org. Accessed February 22, 2012.Google Scholar
Gehlbach, Scott, Sonin, Konstantin, and Zhuravskaya, Ekaterina. 2010. Businessmen Candidates. American Journal of Political Science 54: 718–36.Google Scholar
Gibson, Edward L. 1996. Class and Conservative Parties: Argentina in Comparative Perspective. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
González Pinilla, José. 2009a. Avalancha de locos en Amador. La Prensa, April 27.Google Scholar
González Pinilla, José. 2009b. La rápida evolución de Cd. La Prensa, December 11.Google Scholar
Hagopian, Frances. 1993. After Regime Change: Authoritarian Legacies, Political Representation, and the Democratic Future of South America. World Politics 45, 3: 464–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hale, Henry E. 2006. Why No Parties in Russia? Democracy, Federalism, and the State. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Henríquez, Roberto. 2006. Los plomeros de Panamá. La Prensa, April 9.Google Scholar
Henríquez, Roberto. 2009. Party leader, Democratic Change. Author interview. Panama City, August 27.Google Scholar
Ismael, Hernández A.. 2004. Conflicto por supuesta compra de acciones de Ingenio La Victoria. La Prensa, January 26.Google Scholar
Hopkin, Jonathan, and Paolucci, Caterina. 1999. The Business Firm Model of Party Organization: Cases from Spain and Italy. European Journal of Political Research 35: 307–39.Google Scholar
Kalyvas, Stathis N. 2006. The Rise of Christian Democracy in Europe. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Keck, Margaret E. 1995. The Workers' Party and Democratization in Brazil. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Kirchheimer, Otto. 1966. The Transformation of the Western European Party System. In Political Parties and Political Development, ed. LaPalombara, Joseph and Weiner, Myron. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 177–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert. 2000. Linkages between Citizens and Politicians in Democratic Polities. Comparative Political Studies 33: 845–79.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert, Hawkins, Kirk A., Pablo Luna, Juan, Rosas, Guillermo, and Zechmeister, Elizabeth J.. 2010. Latin American Party Systems. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Leis, Raul. 2009. Sociologist; ex–party operative. Author interview. Panama City, August 25.Google Scholar
Levitsky, Steven. 2003. Transforming Labor-Based Parties in Latin America: Argentine Peronism in Comparative Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Levitsky, Steven, and Cameron, Maxwell A.. 2003. Democracy without Parties? Political Parties and Regime Change in Fujimori's Peru. Latin American Politics and Society 45, 3 (Fall): 1–33.Google Scholar
Loo Pinzón, Kemy. 2009. Partidos comienzan a inscribir adherentes. La Prensa, August 2.Google Scholar
Luna, Juan Pablo. 2007. Frente Amplio and the Crafting of a Social-Democratic Alternative in Uruguay. Latin American Politics and Society 49, 4 (Winter): 1–30.Google Scholar
Luna, Juan Pablo. 2010. Segmented Party Voter Linkages in Latin America: the Case of the Udi. Journal of Latin American Studies 42, 2: 325–56.Google Scholar
Lynch, Edward A. 1993. Latin America's Christian Democratic Parties: A Political Economy. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Lynch, Lynette. 2009. Sala de espera del presidente. La Estrella, September 5.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott P. 1999. Rethinking Party Systems in the Third Wave of Democratization: The Case of Brazil. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott P., and Scully, Timothy R., eds. 1995. Building Democratic Institutions: Party Systems in Latin America. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott P. 2003. Christian Democracy in Latin America: Electoral Competition and Regime Conflicts. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott P., and Torcal, Mariano. 2006. Party System Institutionalization and Party System Theory After the Third Wave of Democratization. In Handbook of Party Politics, ed. Katz, Richard S. and Crotty, William. Thousand Oaks: Sage. 204–27.Google Scholar
Mancini, Paolo, and Swanson, David L.. 1996. Politics, Media, and Modern Democracy: An Introduction. In Politics, Media, and Modern Democracy: An International Study of Innovations in Electoral Campaigning and Their Consequences, ed. Swanson, and Mancini, . Westport: Praeger. 1–26.Google Scholar
Mayorga, Fernando. 1991. La política del silencio: emergencia y consolidación de Unidad Cívica Solidaridad. La Paz: ILDIS.Google Scholar
Middlebrook, Kevin J., ed. 2000. Conservative Parties, The Right, and Democracy in Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Mizrachi Angel, Flor. 2010. Renuncia titular del Mida. La Prensa, June 30.Google Scholar
Morales Gil, Eliana, and González Pinilla, José. 2009. De Bianchini, a la Contraloría. La Prensa, October 15.Google Scholar
Neumann, Sigmund, ed. 1956. Modern Political Parties. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Nohlen, Dieter, ed. 2005. Elections in the Americas: A Data Handbook. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Panamá América (Panama City). 2009. Organo ejecutivo. June 27.Google Scholar
Panebianco, Angelo. 1988. Political Parties: Organization and Power. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Pérez, Orlando J. 2000. Post-Invasion Panama: The Challenges of Democratization in the New World Order. Lanham: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Plasser, Fritz, with Plasser, Gunda. 2002. Global Political Campaigning: A Worldwide Analysis of Campaign Professionals and Their Practices. Westport: Praeger.Google Scholar
Poguntke, Thomas. 2006. Political Parties and Other Organizations. In Handbook of Party Politics, ed. Katz, Richard S. and Crotty, William. Thousand Oaks: Sage. 396–405.Google Scholar
Polanyi, Karl. 1944. The Great Transformation: The Social and Economic Origins of Our Time. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Political Handbook of the World. 1975–2009. Center for Comparative Political Research of the State University of New York at Binghamton/Council on Foreign Relations. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Porcell Alemán, Jaime. 2009. De Ricardito a presidente. Panama City: Rivera.Google Scholar
La Prensa (Panama City). 2006. Intentan recuperar El Machetazo. November 13.Google Scholar
La Prensa (Panama City). 2008. Reseña. June 23.Google Scholar
La Prensa (Panama City). 2009. El primer traspaso acelerado de mando. May 16.Google Scholar
Przeworski, Adam, and Sprague, John. 1986. Paper Stones: A History of Electoral Socialism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Puhle, Hans-Jürgen. 2002. Still the Age of Catch-allism? Volksparteien and Parteienstaat in Crisis and Re-equilibration. In Political Parties: Old Concepts and New Challenges, ed. Gunther, Richard, Ramón Montero, José, and Linz, Juan J.. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 58–83.Google Scholar
Roberts, Kenneth M. 2002. Social Inequalities without Class Cleavages: Party Systems and Labor Movements in Latin America's Neoliberal Era. Studies in Comparative International Development 36, 4 (Winter): 3–33.Google Scholar
Roberts, Kenneth M. 2006. Populist Mobilization, Socio-Political Conflict, and Grass-Roots Organization in Latin America. Comparative Politics 38, 2: 127–48.Google Scholar
Roberts, Kenneth M. 2007. The Crisis of Labor Politics in Latin America: Parties and Labor Movements during the Transition to Neoliberalism. International Labor and Working Class History 72 (Fall): 116–33.Google Scholar
Roberts, Kenneth M. 2008. The Mobilization of Opposition to Economic Liberalization. Annual Review of Political Science 11: 327–49.Google Scholar
Rodríguez Garibaldo, Belisario. 2009. Las elecciones en Panamá: descripción política y periodística de los procesos electorales de Panamá 1984–2004. Panama City: Cultural Portobelo.Google Scholar
Scarrow, Susan E., Webb, Paul, and Farrell, David M.. 2000. From Social Integration to Electoral Contestation. In Parties Without Partisans: Political Change in Advanced Industrialized Democracies, ed. Dalton, Russell J. and Wattenberg, Martin P.. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 129–53.Google Scholar
Schneider, Ben Ross. 2004. Business Politics and the State in Twentieth-Century Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schneider, Ben Ross. 2008. Economic Liberalization and Corporate Governance: the Resilience of Business Groups in Latin America. Comparative Politics 40, 4: 379–98.Google Scholar
Schumpeter, Joseph. 1942. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York: Harper.Google Scholar
Sirias, Silvio. 2008. Balbina Herrera's Head Start. Panama News (Panama City), November 22.Google Scholar
Stokes, Susan C. 2007. Political Clientelism. In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, ed. Boix, Carles and Stokes, . Oxford: Oxford University Press. 604–27.Google Scholar
Van Cott, Donna Lee. 2003. From Exclusion to Inclusion: Bolivia's 2002 Elections. Journal of Latin American Studies 35, 4 (November): 751–75.Google Scholar
Waisbord, Silvio R. 1996. Secular Politics: The Modernization of Argentine Electioneering. In Politics, Media, and Modern Democracy: An International Study of Innovations in Electoral Campaigning and Their Consequences, ed. Swanson, David L. and Mancini, Paolo. Westport: Praeger. 207–26.Google Scholar
Wood, Elizabeth J. 2000. Civil War and the Transformation of Elite Representation in El Salvador. In Middlebrook 2000. 223–54.Google Scholar
Yashar, Deborah J. 2006. The Siren's Call: Indigenous Movements, Parties, and Representation in the Andes. In When Representation Fails: The Crisis of Democratic Representation in the Andes, ed. María Bejarano, Ana, Pizarro, Eduardo, and Mainwaring, Scott. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 257–92.Google Scholar
Zovatto, Daniel. 2001. América Latina. In Dinero y contienda político-electoral: reto de la democracia, ed. Carrillo, Manuel, Lujambio, Alonso, Navarro, Carlos, and Zovatto, . Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica. 33–96.Google Scholar