Latin America is experiencing a boom of far-right political forces, with cases such as those led by Milei in Argentina, Bolsonaro in Brazil, and Kast in Chile, among others. Most analyses tend to focus on presidents and parties of this political current, but not on legislators, who represent the will of the people and have the power to carry out government programs. This raises a question: What are Latin American far-right legislators like? What are their opinions on democracy, the role of the state in the economy, or issues such as immigration and gender parity? What are their positions on abortion, homosexual marriage, euthanasia, or the legalization of drugs? To answer these questions, one can consult the database of the Latin American Elites Project of the University of Salamanca (PELA-USAL for its acronym in Spanish), which has been conducting periodic surveys of parliamentarians in the countries of the region to understand what they are like and how they behave.
Before describing the profile of the Latin American deputy of the far right, two points should be made. On the one hand, we present data from surveys conducted between 2020 and 2023, a period in which only 5.6% of the legislators surveyed in this region placed themselves on the extreme right of the ideological scale (9 and 10 on a scale of 1 to 10). On the other hand, information is included for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, but not for Brazil, the only country that had a president of this political sign during that period.
Bearing in mind these limitations, the first thing that stands out is that the sociodemographic profile of a far-right deputy does not differ much from the rest of the deputies: their average age is 48.6 years, 39% are women, 92% have graduate or postgraduate degrees and 46% claim to frequently attend religious services. On the other hand, opinions and attitudes are very different according to ideological self-positioning.
Looking at authoritarian attitudes, there are marked differences between ideologically opposed legislators. Centrists and right-wingers agree more than the rest that governments should sometimes prioritize good economic performance over democratic governance. Thirty percent of those on the far right believe that the police should focus on fighting organized crime, without concern for respect for human rights. On the other hand, there is a convergence among deputies of the ideological extremes among those who defend that, sometimes, it is necessary to limit the rights of the opposition when their exercise prevents the implementation of policies beneficial to the country, although they comprise only 20% of their respective groups. Finally, 20% of those on the far right believe that sometimes it is justified for the president to implement public policies beneficial to the country even if judges have ruled against those policies. This percentage is double that of the center-right (10%), but contrasts with 65% of those questioned who are on the left and 34% on the center-left. This hostile attitude of legislators from the left-wing bloc toward judges may be due to the lawfare phenomenon in the region.
Source: Elaborated by the authors based on data from PELA-USAL.
Another issue that characterizes the far right is its position regarding the role of the state and its relationship with the market. In Latin America, 77% of the far-right deputies are in favor of the free market, being the ideological group most favorable to it and most opposed to state intervention in the economy. Although in the abstract these legislators have more pro-market positions, when questioned on concrete issues, most of them show attitudes more favorable to the role of the state than the center-right on all the issues raised, except on gender equality.
Source: Elaborated by the authors based on data from PELA-USAL.
On immigration, the survey results reinforce the idea that this is a central issue for the far right, also in Latin America. Compared to other ideological groups, it is the one that is most opposed to immigration. In fact, immigration is one of the issues on which it differs most with the center-right. More than half of far-right lawmakers believe that immigrants take advantage of social benefits and public aid and worsen the country’s insecurity problems; more than 60% believe that the government should adopt restrictive policies on immigration; and more than 70% agree that, when employment is scarce, nationals should have priority over immigrants in accessing jobs and that immigrants should adapt to the country’s customs and culture.
Source: Elaborated by the authors based on data from PELA-USAL.
Regarding gender parity, right-wing deputies are moderate, since, although they are less enthusiastic than the rest of the legislators, more than 60% agree that electoral parity contributes to a better democracy. This may be due to the fact that the far right is, after the left, the ideological group with the highest percentage of women in Latin American parliaments. On the other hand, almost half of the right-wing deputies believe that quotas favor women who are not sufficiently prepared to enter Congress, an opinion that is around 40% in the center-right group and 30% in the rest of the groups. Unlike immigration, on this issue there is not much distance between the far right and the more centrist right.
Source: Elaborated by the authors based on data from PELA-USAL.
Finally, the issues that most characterize the far right are disapproval of same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, and the legalization of drugs, although the intensity varies depending on the public policy being asked about. Eighty percent of right-wing deputies disapprove of abortion and drug legalization, but the percentage drops to around 55% when it comes to same-sex marriage and euthanasia. On these moral issues, the differences between left, center and right ideological groups are well-marked, with the center-left being the most progressive and the far right the most conservative. There is also a certain distance between the positions of the center-right and the far right, especially on the issues of equal marriage and drug legalization.
Source: Elaborated by the authors based on data from PELA-USAL.
In summary, these data provide a radiography of the average profile of far-right legislators in Latin America. A significant percentage of them have authoritarian attitudes, especially regarding economic and public security matters. While they strongly support pro-market positions, these stances are moderated when it comes to state intervention in reducing inequalities and providing public services. Despite having less internal consensus than other ideological groups, most of them believe the state should play a central role. Likewise, these legislators accept gender parity, though to a lesser extent than other ideologies. However, their most pronounced opinions are the defense of more restrictive immigration measures and the disapproval of public policies on moral issues, particularly abortion and the legalization of drugs.
The content of this article is part of an academic paper to be presented at the ALACIP and AECPA Congresses in July 2024.
*Translated by Janaína Ruviaro da Silva from the original in Spanish.
Autor
Politólogo. Doctorando en Política Comparada en Universidad de Salamanca. Colaborador del Proyecto de Élites Parlamentarias Latinoamericanas (PELA-USAL).
Political scientist. Professor at Jorge Tadeo Lozano Univ. (Bogotá). PhD in Rule of Law and Global Governance and Master in Latin American Studies from the University of Salamanca.
