A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters

Autores
Annunziata, Rocío; Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique
Año de publicación
2026
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
This article unpacks the surprising rise of Javier Milei in Argentina by examining the dynamics of support among his early electorate. While populism and populist radical right (PRR) theories often assume a degree of ideological cohesion within a leader´s base, our focus group study reveals a different story: Milei´s support is overwhelmingly forged by a potent blend of charismatic negativity and a shared, visceral rejection of the political establishment, rather than a consistent embrace of his specific libertarian-radical right agenda. Through intensive qualitative inquiry among voters who backed Milei in the primary and first-round elections across his electoral strongholds, we demonstrate significant programmatic and ideological heterogeneity. Supporters frequently reinterpreted Milei´s radical proposals—on issues from educational vouchers to the role of the state—to align with their own desires for fairness or better services, rather than adopting his prescribed doctrine. This demand-side reinterpretation highlights a crucial mechanism of contemporary populist appeal: charismatic leaders´ capacity to mobilize diverse electorates through shared disaffection, even in the absence of profound ideological unity. Milei´s case thus compels a re-evaluation of how PRR movements consolidate power, suggesting that programmatic alignment may be less a prerequisite for populist success than previously assumed, yielding instead to the powerful unifying force of a compelling anti-establishment persona.
Fil: Annunziata, Rocío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; Argentina
Fil: Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; Argentina
Materia
POPULISMO
DEMOCRACIA
ARGENTINA
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/290221
Acceder
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spelling A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s SupportersAnnunziata, RocíoPeruzzotti, Carlos EnriquePOPULISMODEMOCRACIAARGENTINAhttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.6https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5This article unpacks the surprising rise of Javier Milei in Argentina by examining the dynamics of support among his early electorate. While populism and populist radical right (PRR) theories often assume a degree of ideological cohesion within a leader´s base, our focus group study reveals a different story: Milei´s support is overwhelmingly forged by a potent blend of charismatic negativity and a shared, visceral rejection of the political establishment, rather than a consistent embrace of his specific libertarian-radical right agenda. Through intensive qualitative inquiry among voters who backed Milei in the primary and first-round elections across his electoral strongholds, we demonstrate significant programmatic and ideological heterogeneity. Supporters frequently reinterpreted Milei´s radical proposals—on issues from educational vouchers to the role of the state—to align with their own desires for fairness or better services, rather than adopting his prescribed doctrine. This demand-side reinterpretation highlights a crucial mechanism of contemporary populist appeal: charismatic leaders´ capacity to mobilize diverse electorates through shared disaffection, even in the absence of profound ideological unity. Milei´s case thus compels a re-evaluation of how PRR movements consolidate power, suggesting that programmatic alignment may be less a prerequisite for populist success than previously assumed, yielding instead to the powerful unifying force of a compelling anti-establishment persona.Fil: Annunziata, Rocío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; ArgentinaCambridge University Press2026-04info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/290221Annunziata, Rocío; Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique; A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters; Cambridge University Press; Latin American Research Review; 4-2026; 1-191542-4278CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/latin-american-research-review/article/negative-radical-right-populism-the-absence-of-a-shared-identity-among-mileis-supporters/972DA4FA9C32FDF77BAAE8E9DFA69D48info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1017/lar.2026.10127info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2026-08-25T14:40:23Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/290221instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982026-08-25 14:40:24.113CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters
title A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters
spellingShingle A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters
Annunziata, Rocío
POPULISMO
DEMOCRACIA
ARGENTINA
title_short A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters
title_full A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters
title_fullStr A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters
title_full_unstemmed A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters
title_sort A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Annunziata, Rocío
Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique
author Annunziata, Rocío
author_facet Annunziata, Rocío
Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique
author_role author
author2 Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv POPULISMO
DEMOCRACIA
ARGENTINA
topic POPULISMO
DEMOCRACIA
ARGENTINA
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv This article unpacks the surprising rise of Javier Milei in Argentina by examining the dynamics of support among his early electorate. While populism and populist radical right (PRR) theories often assume a degree of ideological cohesion within a leader´s base, our focus group study reveals a different story: Milei´s support is overwhelmingly forged by a potent blend of charismatic negativity and a shared, visceral rejection of the political establishment, rather than a consistent embrace of his specific libertarian-radical right agenda. Through intensive qualitative inquiry among voters who backed Milei in the primary and first-round elections across his electoral strongholds, we demonstrate significant programmatic and ideological heterogeneity. Supporters frequently reinterpreted Milei´s radical proposals—on issues from educational vouchers to the role of the state—to align with their own desires for fairness or better services, rather than adopting his prescribed doctrine. This demand-side reinterpretation highlights a crucial mechanism of contemporary populist appeal: charismatic leaders´ capacity to mobilize diverse electorates through shared disaffection, even in the absence of profound ideological unity. Milei´s case thus compels a re-evaluation of how PRR movements consolidate power, suggesting that programmatic alignment may be less a prerequisite for populist success than previously assumed, yielding instead to the powerful unifying force of a compelling anti-establishment persona.
Fil: Annunziata, Rocío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; Argentina
Fil: Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; Argentina
description This article unpacks the surprising rise of Javier Milei in Argentina by examining the dynamics of support among his early electorate. While populism and populist radical right (PRR) theories often assume a degree of ideological cohesion within a leader´s base, our focus group study reveals a different story: Milei´s support is overwhelmingly forged by a potent blend of charismatic negativity and a shared, visceral rejection of the political establishment, rather than a consistent embrace of his specific libertarian-radical right agenda. Through intensive qualitative inquiry among voters who backed Milei in the primary and first-round elections across his electoral strongholds, we demonstrate significant programmatic and ideological heterogeneity. Supporters frequently reinterpreted Milei´s radical proposals—on issues from educational vouchers to the role of the state—to align with their own desires for fairness or better services, rather than adopting his prescribed doctrine. This demand-side reinterpretation highlights a crucial mechanism of contemporary populist appeal: charismatic leaders´ capacity to mobilize diverse electorates through shared disaffection, even in the absence of profound ideological unity. Milei´s case thus compels a re-evaluation of how PRR movements consolidate power, suggesting that programmatic alignment may be less a prerequisite for populist success than previously assumed, yielding instead to the powerful unifying force of a compelling anti-establishment persona.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026-04
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/290221
Annunziata, Rocío; Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique; A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters; Cambridge University Press; Latin American Research Review; 4-2026; 1-19
1542-4278
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/290221
identifier_str_mv Annunziata, Rocío; Peruzzotti, Carlos Enrique; A Negative Radical Right Populism: The (Absence of a) Shared Identity Among Milei’s Supporters; Cambridge University Press; Latin American Research Review; 4-2026; 1-19
1542-4278
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/latin-american-research-review/article/negative-radical-right-populism-the-absence-of-a-shared-identity-among-mileis-supporters/972DA4FA9C32FDF77BAAE8E9DFA69D48
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1017/lar.2026.10127
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cambridge University Press
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cambridge University Press
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
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instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
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repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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