Democracy, elite power and civil society: Bolivia and Peru compared

Abstract

Despite proximity and cultural similarities, Peru and Bolivia provide contrasting examples of elite power as opposed to that of popular movements. Peru in recent years has seen the consolidation of business power at the expense of a politically active civil society; opposition to neoliberal policies has been fragmented and weak. Bolivia has a history of strong social movements that underpinned successive administrations by the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS). However, these trajectories are not fixed and the ability of civil society and elites to control the state fluctuates. The November 2019 coup in Bolivia is a reminder of this. This article compares the two countries over different time periods: that of state-led development prior to 1980, the neoliberal period in the 1980s and 1990s, and that of post-neoliberalism period after 2000.