Resumen

MANSILLA, H.C.F. Los regímenes populistas latinoamericanos como reproductores de tradiciones autoritarias: Una visión heterodoxa sobre una temática siempre actual. CDC [online]. 2011, vol.28, n.78, pp.001-035. ISSN 1012-2508.

The main points of the Latin American political culture and mentality, especially in its less modernized areas (Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela), arise from colonial times. Baroque Catholicism has been one of the major factors in this process, revitalized in the second half of the 20^th century by the theology and philosophy of liberation. It most important features are authoritarianism, paternalism and centralism, on the one hand, and inefficient functioning of the state bureaucracy, on the other. Contemporary populism is nourished by the preservation of this political culture seen now as innate. Particularistic and communitarian theories tend to strengthen this situation. Populism can bring a return of nationalist and collectivist behavior patterns and political procedures characterized by caudillismo, irrationalism and authoritarian hierarchies.

Palabras clave : Authoritarianism; Catholicism; Baroque ethos; Intellectuals; Particularism; Populism.