There has been a rise in ideological and affective polarization and associated democratic backsliding in Latin America in the last two decades. Among other factors, the shares of people who use the internet and immigrants are strong correlates of this trend in political polarization. This rise in political polarization is concerning for policymakers since it can hurt democracy and governance through increased distrust among citizens and between citizens, political leaders, and the media. A new paper from Horacio Larreguy of the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and Ernesto Tiburcio of Tufts University builds on existing work about political polarization in the United States to identify three main drivers of polarization likely present in Latin America. The Georgetown Americas Institute was pleased to host a conversation with Larreguy on their research, exploring political polarization in the Americas.
Featuring
Horacio Larreguy is an associate professor of economics and political science at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST) and Toulouse School of Economics (TSE). Prior to this role, he was an assistant and associate professor of government at Harvard University from 2013 to 2021, as well as a visiting researcher at the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) and Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST) from 2020 to 2022. Larreguy is an Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) affiliated professor, CesIfo research fellow, and an Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP) member. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013.
Renee Bowen is an economist and dean's Professor of International Business and Global Affairs at Georgetown University. She is jointly appointed in the McDonough School of Business and the Walsh School of Foreign Service. She has held previous academic positions at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, UC San Diego’s Department of Economics and School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS). In 2019, she founded the Center for Commerce and Diplomacy at UC San Diego, and served as its director until 2023. She is an economic theory fellow at the Society for the Advances in Economic Theory, a council member of the Game Theory Society, has published in top economics journals including the American Economic Review, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and is on the editorial boards of the American Economic Review: Insights, Journal of Economic Literature and the Review of International Organizations. Her professional memberships include the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a board member of the Pacific Council on International Relations. She has held other positions at the Hoover Institution, the World Bank, J.P. Morgan Securities, the Inter-American Development Bank, and is currently a member of the California Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors, where she chaired the workforce development subcommittee. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Georgetown University, and a BSc in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her recent research examines the design of global multilateral institutions and formation of political beliefs in societies.