Democratic Citizenship as Uruguayan Cultural Heritage
in Democratic TheoryAll currencies in US Dollar
Abstract
Amidst a global turn towards authoritarianism and populism, there are few contemporary examples of state-led democratization. This article discusses how Uruguay's Frente Amplio (FA) party has drawn on a unique national democratic cultural heritage to encourage a coupling of participatory and representative institutions in “a politics of closeness.” The FA has reinvigorated Batllismo, a discourse associated with social justice, civic republicanism, and the rise of Uruguayan social democracy in the early twentieth century. At the same time, the FA's emphasis on egalitarian participation is inspired by the thought of Uruguay's independence hero José Artigas. I argue that the cross-weave of party and movement, and of democratic citizenship and national heritage, encourages the emergence of new figures of the citizen and new permutations for connecting citizens with representative institutions. The FA's “politics of closeness” is an example of how state-driven democratization remains possible in an age described by some as “post-democratic.”
Contributor Notes
Robin Rodd teaches anthropology and critical theory at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. He has worked with the Piaroa ethnic group in Venezuela on shamanism and drug use, and in Uruguay and Argentina on questions of memory and democracy. He is currently researching the banality of evil in Australia and the southern cone. E-mail: robin.rodd@jcu.edu.au