The Rise of New Personal Parties in Latin America

Abstract

This article contributes to the understanding of contemporary party politics in Latin America by measuring and analysing the electoral victories of new parties since the third wave of democratisation. Drawing on an original dataset of democratic presidential elections from 1980 to 2024, the study reveals that, beginning in 2015, there has been an unprecedented surge in presidential elections won by newly created parties. The article advances a twofold explanation for this phenomenon: the decline of the remaining traditional parties and the unsustainable nature of the new parties that have secured electoral victories in recent years. Together, these processes have generated a cumulative dynamic through which personal short-lived parties increasingly come to dominateLatin American elections.