Week 10 Power to the people

This week we have been looking at “power to the people” and certain political leaders that transformed Latin America.

Populism having been characterized as having charismatic leaders being able to easily speak to people because of their use of speech. This tactic I have noticed has been around for ages, I remember having studied Julius Caesar and exploring the ways in which he speaks to his people, and he had been able to get the vote of people because of the way he would speak- and this would be by coming down to their level instead of speaking as if he was superior to them. We can see this trait used by many leaders today in the world.

Populist on the other hand I discovered contrasts greatly with the ideas expressed above. It is, in fact, negative as they are seen to be going against the views of the majority. Populist leaders will also deny the fact that they are these types of leaders.

Peronism is also explained in the video, it incorporates socialist ideals as opposed to capitalist ideals. By using simple ordinary language Peron became a popular character.  

Whilst all these ideas, theories and concepts were being introduced, it happened during a time were mass communication was being introduced. This had been done through radio, photography and other forms of technology. Moreover, the number of people that had begun living in cities as opposed to urban areas had also significantly increased. Due to the number of people that had moved into the cities, shows and radio was increasingly popular and almost everyone had access to these. These types of technologies was used as a tactic to gain the vote of the people.  Radio shows like the “Agentine President” Juan Peron used a radio show to connect to their people. He had wanted to put an end to oligarchy and even though he had been imprisoned he was able to make a huge difference through his radio show which his wife, Evita managed to take control off after- this was also during a time where women were emancipated so they were allowed to have rights for themselves and this was one way that they were able to voice their opinions.

Although radio was increasingly popular back in the days, I feel as though it is no longer significant in today and there are newer techniques that are being used to harness power and control over people- like fear. Most recently with Trump and even Putin.  My question for this week was how did leaders like Peron manage to win over people that had no access to radio-communication or technology? Especially for those who lived on the outskirts of the city.