In search of absent gods

the populist way of life in Laclau’s and Chaui’s point of view

Abstract

Understanding Latin-American politics implicates in defining its peculiarities regarding political forms amiss considered more developed by hegemonic central nations. A key concept for this process is that of populism. According to Ernesto Laclau, it can be defined as a political technique in which multiple social demands crystallize tentatively in slogans or in the figure of a leader, not depending on ideological alignment. On the other hand, Marilena Chauí identifies a concrete affinity between populist practices and social issues in a society, focusing on the so-called “founding myth” of Brazilian society and its prevalence in the imaginary. This article presents similarities and differences between forms of analysis of Latin-American politics by the aforementioned authors in order to trigger answers to questions such as: why does populism seem to fit so perfectly to Southern Hemisphere realities? Would it be more than a government practice system, but a way of life that is pervasive in political, economic, social and cultural institutions in Latin-American communities? To which extent the search for political and intellectual alternatives to the false messiah embodied in the populist leader is not resorting to the messianic logic that it is supposed to counter?