Analysing the Rhetoric of Latin American Populist Leaders Regarding the European Union: The Cases of Bolivia and Ecuador

Abstract

Historically, Latin America has been a fertile ground for the emergence of populism. Scholars have identified several waves of populist governments flourishing in the region during the last century. The third wave began in the 2000s when leftist leaders came to power in some Latin American countries, a phenomenon called the Pink Tide. Two of the most notable examples of populist governments in this wave were Evo Morales in Bolivia (2006–2019) and Rafael Correa in Ecuador (2007–2017). Both leaders promoted an anti-elitist rhetoric highlighting a confrontational divide between domestic elites (as perpetrators of injustices) and the people (as victims). This rhetoric also involved external actors. The relationship with the great powers was permeated by the populist discourse based on the logic of them vs. us. In this context, the paper analyses the rhetoric of Evo Morales and Rafael Correa concerning the role of the European Union in their countries. Primary sources (speeches, press releases and official documents) are examined to understand the image built around the EU and to grasp how populist rhetoric portrayed the EU’s role in areas such as trade and migration. The result is a complex assessment of the ideas about the EU disseminated by these leaders, examining how Morales’s and Correa’s rhetoric evolved over the years and identifying similarities and differences between their approaches.