When Isabel Diaz Ayuso, in May 2021, won the early elections for the community of Madrid, Spain, sectors of the right in Latin America -or right, there are many- began to follow her closely. The charismatic leader of the Popular Party (PP) He had shown how a successful generational change in his party was presented, with the reappearance of conservative ideas in a Spain that needed a discourse in favor of freedom, private initiative and tax reduction.
Two years later, in the regional and municipal elections, Ayuso has revalidated his power, that of his party and that of the hard right of Vox, achieving an overwhelming victory, which has forced Pedro Sánchez to advance the general elections.
Behind the success of the right in Spain there are many things. The first, and most important, is that there is a set of visions, often divergent, on the economy and politics, as well as on abortion and minority rights. But the right as a whole agrees on the same objective: to beat the left, and something else.
In every Latin American country, likewise, there are conservatives, ultra-conservatives, liberals or libertarians, it all depends on the political tradition and the moment in which the country is. Comparing with the tendencies of the Spanish right is not a bad exercise, as long as the contexts are clear.
Naturally, it is understood that in Argentina -the most closed economy on the continent- a libertarian like Javier Millei emerges who asks to “embrace” -a very libertarian term- the free market or that, in Uruguay, despite the proximity, a reformist conservative governs as is Luis Lacalle Pou.
Conservatives
Conservatives in Latin America are identified with order and authority, although this notion excludes many other things. In their contemporary meaning, these two precepts are associated with a sense of reformism, which includes responsible fiscal and macroeconomic management, as well as in some cases lowering taxes, while moderately protecting handouts. Past the “pink tide”, Pink Tide –as the international media call it – there are currently three conservative governments in the region.
A clear example of this trend is Lacalle Pou, the young president of Uruguay. Criticized for being the son of a former president, he is perhaps the greatest figure of the conservative right in Latin America for his reformism, as well as his ability to restore order in a country haunted by micro-trafficking. He has carried out a referendum, called “fundamental reform”, with which he has sought face high levels of insecurity, excessive public spending and mediocre growth.
Not far from Lacalle is a conservative, who is going through a critical moment in his country. Former businessman, Guillermo Lasso has been a reformer who defends authority as the basic principle of his government. A year ago, in full protests against the increase in gasoline, he defended the use of public force to contain the massive protests against his government. Former banker, pro-dollarization and in favor of a tighter state, Lasso is a classic conservative, who came to power, however, outside the traditional parties.
Winner of the presidential elections in Paraguay two weeks ago, Santiago Peña also subscribes to this trend. From the Colorado Party – the oldest in all of Latin America – and former Minister of Finance, Peña represents conservative values. EITHEROther politicians who do not govern today but who are also of this line are: Horacio Rodríguez Laretta -second to Mauricio Macri- in Argentina, Carlos Mesa in Bolivia and Ricardo Anaya in Mexico.
Comparatively it is possible to say that Lacalle Pou, Lasso and Peña represent political values similar to those of the PP. Lacalle can be compared to Ayuso in Spain, for being more direct in defending freedom and tax cuts, while the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and potential head of government, is a more institutionalist conservative, which looks more like Lasso or Peña.
ultraconservatives and libertarians
There are times when they coincide, but also when they collide strongly. Putting an ultra-conservative like José Antonio Kast in the same category with the libertarian Millei seems like a mistake. However, the two share the same ideas about abortion, authority and, to a lesser extent, taxes, but in other things they differ.
Kast, however, cannot be called a libertarian because he does not focus his discourse on what the academic Andrés Malamud has called “ultraliberal orthodoxy”, but rather generally bets on defending values such as the family, the constitutional order and authority, leaving in a free market and taxes in the background.
Faced with this difference, the Mises Institute in Brazil says that, for example, Jair Bolsonaro, a very similar politicianor to Kast, he is “a market-friendly conservative, but never a libertarian.” The former president of Brazil leads the ultra-conservative right in Latin America, to which other politicians also join, such as the former mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga and eventually Nayib Bukele, in El Salvador.
Bukele, Bolsonaro and Kast share a strong defense of law enforcement and believe in “strong hand” solutions to reduce disorder and insecurity. The national identity they defend – in the case of Bukele remains to be seen – is centered on military and patriotic symbols.
Like Kast, López Aliaga belongs to the The Work of God, while Bolsonaro is evangelical. Regardless of this, religiosity explains, in part, his opposition to euthanasia, abortion and same-sex marriage, issues on which some conservatives such as Ayuso or Lacalle Pou may have moderate positions.
At a comparative level, the Latin American ultra-conservatives tend to be more like VOX in Spain than the PP. This explains why ultra-conservatives such as Kast or Eduardo Bolsonaro -Jair’s son- have signed the “Madrid Charter” with VOX leaders, in which they denounce communism in Latin America.
Libertarians, by contrast, tend not to talk as much about civil and political debates as abortion. Milei, for example, is pro-life, but there are other libertarians who defend the right to abortion as a free and autonomous exercise of the citizen. His speech is about the virtues of the free market and its enemies. “CThey combine a kind of ultraliberal orthodoxy, from Friedman and Von Hayek, and see themselves as a warrior against the State as it is known”, is how Malamud defines them.
Seen as the greatest political reference for libertarians, Millei openly clashes with conservatives like Rodríguez Laretta in Argentina for defending the issuance of the central bank or for believing in formulas such as gradualism, which consists of gradually lowering social assistance.
Conservative, ultra-conservative or libertarian, whatever they are, the right shows that it is diverse and has different tendencies. The problem is that all of them agree on a country project, as, in a certain way, has happened in Spain.