Authoritarian Legacies and Far-Right Normalization in the Andes

This paper examines the uneven processes of far-right normalization across Andean countries, understood as the increasing ability of far-right actors to influence political discourse and to form part of governing coalitions. While Peru shows the most advanced case of normalization, Chile and Colombia present partial trajectories, and in Bolivia and Ecuador far-right platforms remain comparatively marginal. I argue that the variation is explained by the presence—or absence—of authoritarian legacies emerging from the interaction between political violence and restorative authoritarian regimes. Where intense episodes of political violence were followed by strong authoritarian governments able to legitimize themselves through restorative discourses, conditions were created for far-right actors to later gain discursive and coalition influence. Conversely, where only one of these elements was present, or both were weak, far-right normalization has been limited. Using a multi-method approach, I leverage the variation present in Andean democracies to analyze this relationship. Peru combines both conditions—intense political violence and a strong restorative authoritarian regime— making it the clearest case of far-right normalization. In Chile, a strong authoritarian regime but limited prior violence produced partial normalization, while in Colombia the sequence was reversed, with intense violence but failed authoritarian restoration. In Bolivia and Ecuador, the absence of both elements has constrained far-right actors to remain peripheral. By linking authoritarian legacies to contemporary political competition dynamics, the paper contributes to broader debates on authoritarian nostalgia, explaining how historical experiences shape the success and normalization of far-right forces in Latin America.

Paolo Sosa Villagarcia is a Post-Doctoral Fellow, Center for Inter-American Policy and Research at Tulane University.