From Washington to Madrid: The Latin American New Right’s Spin on History

Perochena C.; Vergara A. · Apuntes (2026) · DOI: 10.21678/apuntes.101.3159

Resumen

This article argues that the Latin American new radical right differs from the neoliberal right of the 1990s through a major historical shift: whereas the neoliberalism of the Washington Consensus sought to overcome the past and embrace an ahistorical technocratic cosmopolitanism, the contemporary right, articulated around the Madrid Forum, reclaims history as a battleground for cultural and political struggle. The article identifies two key historical junctures that this new right reinterprets: the colonial past and the military dictatorships of the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on the cases of Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Bolivia, the article shows how these reinterpretations of the past provide the intellectual foundations for a project that seeks to restrict and reconceptualize citizenship by excluding historically marginalized groups. It concludes that, despite its hegemonic ambitions, the radicalism of this discourse limits its ability to secure broad electoral majorities. © Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.

Instituciones: Universidad del Pacífico