Populism and neoliberalism as political logics and processes

The article approaches two contemporary political phenomena, populism and neoliberalism, by considering them at two levels: ontic and ontological. At the first level, we understand both phenomena as political processes in which the state, the socio-state relationship, the commitment to democracy and policies assume certain features. At the second level, we conceive them as political logics that shape and mold the social order and social subjects. Conceptualizing them in this double dimension contributes to a better understanding of contemporary political processes in the Latin American region. The thesis backed in the paper is that the normative anchoring of the category of populism postulated by liberalism, which inherently understands it as opposed to institutions and democracy, can be banished in light of the neoliberal comeback of recent years. It is the recent neoliberal resurgence that paradoxically, with its anti-populist and elitist project, highlights the institutional and democratic power of actually existing populisms.