Comparing political systems in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile

This article proposes a comparison among political systems in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, taking into consideration distinct historical aspects on the formation of social classes as well as their political expressions in the three countries, especially the foreign immigration influence. It is highlighted that, in Argentina, the enormous amount of foreign immigrants, especially European, without citizenship (up to 70% of the urban bourgeois and qualified proletarian), has hindered the formation of both a strong liberal party and a modern right-oriented political power, also debilitating social-democratic and socialist alternatives. In Chile, both the working class and the population as a whole, despite the significant foreign presence, has kept up more homogenous and national. In Brazil, the abundance of cheap labor force has made it difficult, since the beginning of the twentieth century, to form a socialist or radical party, both present in Argentina and Brazil. Afterwards, varguism has had a strong popular appeal, though concentrated in urban areas. The working class formed during the Brazilian industrialization came from the countryside and lacked historical memory, thus being eager for new experiences, such as PT. In Argentina, the industrial halt has caused its current working class to keep very similar to the beginning of the peronism, favoring the prevalence of this political expression.

socialism; peronism; varguism; liberalism; imigration