Abstract

Most literature on political change in Latin America over the past two decades has focused on describing pendular right/left dynamics. This division, however, is insufficient to capture the nuances contained in each category. The centrist consensus (Giddens 1994) and the emergence of various expressions of a “new conservatism” also blurred the boundary between “conservatism” and “progressivism” when the right with an intent to broaden its projection towards new electorates chose to moderate its programs and adopt left-wing issues such as ecology, quality of life, women's rights, or sexual dissidence. In this sense, alternations can have different natures. Sometimes they guarantee continuity, other times change.