The female face of latin american populism

Abstract

Despite the multiplicity of approaches to populism, there remains a gap in theorizing and empirically addressing the phenomenon from the perspective of female political actors. The research underpinning the results presented in this article sought to address this gap by proposing a theoretical conceptualization of female populist leadership in Latin America, followed by a methodological approach to studying it. The article aims to explore the conceptual intersections between populism and political leadership to deepen the study of populist leaderships exercised by female political actors in the region. The research involved reconstructing the contributions to the conceptualizations of populism and political leadership through the academic work of key classical and contemporary authors. A qualitative study was conducted, complemented by a conceptual reflection. Through a thorough review of academic texts on the main theoretical currents of these two concepts, analytical categories were developed to identify their conceptual intersections. The findings suggest a developing conceptualization rooted in general elements such as context and geographical spaces, as well as specific elements like image, personality, and positioning. The originality of this research, and of this article in particular, lies in its proposal of a conceptualization of female populist leadership in Latin America, one that responds to the sociopolitical transition currently underway in the region.