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The Bolivian Mas (Movement Toward Socialism) in Comparative Perspective

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The Bolivian Mas (Movement Toward Socialism) in Comparative Perspective SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, PARTIES, AND THE LEFT IN LATIN AMERICA: THE BOLIVIAN MAS (MOVEMENT TOWARD SOCIALISM) IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Santiago Anria A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill 2015 Approved by: Evelyne Huber Graeme Robertson Lars Schoultz John D. Stephens Milada Anna Vachudova © 2015 Santiago Anria ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Santiago Anria: Social Movements, Parties, and the Left in Latin America: The Bolivian MAS (Movement Toward Socialism) in Comparative Perspective (Under the Direction of Evelyne Huber) There have been several important cases of movement-based parties that rose rapidly in popularity and were able to attain national power in new democracies. Existing theories predict these parties will become increasingly top-down organizations designed to preserve and enhance the power of party elites, a trend that is usually aggravated when parties govern nationally. The Bolivian MAS deviates from this conventional wisdom, as it has followed a remarkably different organizational trajectory that has facilitated grassroots impact and constrained elite control. Through a within-case comparative examination of the MAS, this study identifies necessary conditions and explains mechanisms facilitating this outcome in the crucial areas of candidate selection and national policy-making. The study finds that a set of historical legacies traceable to a party’s origins and structural elements associated with the density of civil society heavily affect power distributions within governing movement-based parties. Both elements can facilitate the emergence of opposition among allied groups that can check power from within and keep open channels for agenda setting from below. The realization of this potential, as this study argues, depends heavily on the organizational strength, unity, and mobilization capacity of allied groups in civil society. The analysis reveals that movement-based parties are remarkably flexible organizations whose boundaries with allied groups in civil society tend to be fluid and empirically blurred. The empirical basis for this argument derives, first, from a wealth of iii qualitative data collected in Bolivia, where I conducted twelve months of fieldwork in different regions of the country. During that time, I conducted over 170 in-depth interviews with party elites at the national, state, and municipal levels, as well as with a wide variety of civil society actors, including union leaders, activists, opposition politicians, and others. Second, cross- national comparisons with the experiences of the Brazilian Workers’ Party (PT) and the Uruguayan Broad Front (FA) improve the overall evidentiary base of this study. They also help to further support the theoretical claims about the importance of historical and structural factors for shaping the degree of power concentration in movement-based parties. iv To Anne v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In researching and writing this dissertation, I have been fortunate to receive help from many individuals and institutions. My research has benefited greatly from the generous advice of the extraordinary members of my committee, as well as other informal advisors. I am above all grateful to my mentor and dissertation advisor, Evelyne Huber, who has been a continual source of support, encouragement, and calm. Evelyne, who shares my concern for the organization of left parties and the empowerment of popular sectors, has not only been a key influence for this research, but her guidance has been fundamental. Her willingness to read critically and comment on every piece of my work has contributed immeasurably to improvements in my theoretical development, my ability to think about the “big picture,” and to frame my research effectively for readers with little knowledge of my area of interest. Although she has set the bar very high, I hope that one day I can be the type of mentor to others that Evelyne has been for me. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the rest of my committee members. Graeme Robertson has closely watched my research evolve over the past six years and has provided extensive advice throughout that time. Milada Vachudova has been a sage reader and, like Graeme, has helped me to think about the broader comparative implications of my research. By often asking the “why should I care” question, both have helped me present the findings of this research in a way that is more accessible to a non-Latin Americanist audience. If I have not achieved that, it is by no means their fault (they tried!). Lars Schoultz has not only made this dissertation more readable in English, but his insights largely improved my own conclusions; he has also been extremely generous with his time and genuinely concerned about my general wellbeing. John vi Stephens offered constructive criticism and important advice at key moments of the writing process, and I appreciate his willingness to ask the difficult questions. I learned a great deal— and possibly lost some hair too—in trying to answer those questions. Other professors at UNC helped with the development of this dissertation in important ways. In particular, Cecilia Martínez-Gallardo and Jonathan Hartlyn offered tough criticism and pushed me to develop sharper arguments in specific chapters, and just talking with them about my research has been profoundly stimulating. I also owe a great deal to informal advisors outside of UNC. Eric Hershberg, at American University, deserves a special mention. His advice, support, and friendship over the course of almost nine years have been invaluable. Most importantly, this dissertation would not exist without a suggestion he made in a graduate seminar, back in Simon Fraser University in 2007, to pay close attention to dynamics of social and political change in the Andes, particularly in Bolivia. Since then, Eric has remained a great friend and critical reader of my work. His insights can be found throughout the dissertation. In addition, the time I spent at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, which Eric directs at American University, was especially productive during the writing stage, and I am thankful to him and to the wonderful staff there for welcoming me and providing an ideal working environment in the summer of 2014. I am also grateful to Judy Rein for her friendship and the valuable feedback and editorial suggestions she has offered over the course of many years. Max Cameron, at the University of British Columbia, has also offered constant encouragement, intellectual support, and advice on specific chapters. His enthusiastic teaching, patient mentoring, and practical wisdom have had an enormous impact on my intellectual development. vii My years at UNC have been particularly stimulating due to my graduate student friends and colleagues. During my first year I was fortunate to meet Russell Bither-Terry, Juan Bogliaccini, Lucía Genta, Sara Niedzwiecki, and Jeff Erbig, who have become amongst my dearest and closest friends. They have provided a much-needed emotional cushion during this long adventure and have served as major sources of inspiration over the course of many years. I am also thankful to other graduate student colleagues who have provided challenging criticism, support, and generous comments over the course of several years, and with whom I have had stimulating conversations about comparative politics: Kiran Auerbach, Kevin Brondum, Amanda Cook, Federico Fuchs, Claire Greenstein, Cole Harvey, Nick Howard, Hanna Kleider, John Lovett, Tamar Malloy Elizabeth Menninga, Paula Mukherjee, Bilyana Petrova, Zoila Ponce de León, Casey Stegman, and Ali Stoyan. I am especially grateful to Russell for the time he took to provide editorial assistance and to help me develop the maps in chapters 2 and 3. I am also particularly thankful to Claire and Casey, who generously read, provided feedback, and edited several of the longest chapters; as I leave UNC, I am very happy to see them flourishing. The staff in the Department of Political Science at UNC has also made this project possible. In particular, I would like to thank Shannon Eubanks, Susan Heske, Carol Nichols, Chris Reynolds, Dana Sadek, and Cynthia Tang. I am particularly grateful to former UNC students for reading major portions of this dissertation, as well as for their advice since my early days in graduate school: Merike Blofield, Agustina Giraudy, Jenny Pribble, and Juan Pablo Luna. All of them have been major sources of inspiration while I developed this project from the very beginning, and they have helped me in many ways—from reading chapters to helping me prepare funding applications, and much more. Among the larger community of scholars, Rob Albro, Jennifer Cyr, Tulia Falleti, Herbert viii Kitschelt, Al Montero, Ken Roberts, María Paula Saffón, David Samuels, Eduardo Silva, Jason Tockman, and Alberto Vergara offered valuable comments, feedback, and other kinds of assistance. I am especially grateful to Jason for his help over the years, for his assistance during my field research, and for his continuous friendship. He provided countless contacts in La Paz and Cochabamba, as well as enthusiastic support since we were classmates at Simon Fraser University. Most important, his academic work has motivated me to study the MAS. Jennifer, a friend and co-author, also deserves special credit;
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