Part of a talk during the Symposium "Populism: what’s next for democracy?" by the University of Canberra in April 2017. Exploration of Ahora Madrid as a democratic populist movement deepening democracy, and challenges the universal applicability of existing political theories to catalogue the effects of populism.

1. Ahora Madrid:
democratic alternatives from
Spanish populism

2. Long wave of anti-
austerity protests
(2011-2015)
• #15M
• Miner’s strike
• Citizen waves
• Surround the
congress

6. 1. Can we catalogue Ahora Madrid as a populist party?
2. Has it deepened or eroded the local democratic institutions?
3. If it combines populism and political regeneration:
what are its traits and how can it be included in current
frameworks for understanding populism?

7. Populism as a political style (Tormey and Moffit, 2014)

8. Populism as a political style (Tormey and Moffit, 2014)
Identification with the “common people”, “common sense”.V

9. Populism as a political style (Tormey and Moffit, 2014)
Identification with the “common people”, “common sense”.
Identification of an elite, responsable of the crisis.
V
V

10. Populism as a political style (Tormey and Moffit, 2014)
Identification with the “common people”, “common sense”.
Identification of an elite, responsable of the crisis.
Low political tone apposing those of the elites.
V
V
V

11. Differences casta

12. New affective
dimensions.
“Madrid deserves Manuela”
A citizen advertising campaign for
Ahora Madrid.

13. New affective
dimensions.
“Madrid deserves Manuela”
A citizen advertising campaign for
Ahora Madrid.

14. New affective
dimensions.
“Madrid deserves Manuela”
A citizen advertising campaign for
Ahora Madrid.

15. New affective
dimensions.
“Madrid deserves Manuela”
A citizen advertising campaign for
Ahora Madrid.

16. “Madrid deserves Manuela”
A citizen advertising
campaign for Ahora Madrid.

17. Is this populist performance compatible
with a deepening of democracy?

18. Dimensions of the quality of democracy
(Diamond and Morlino’s)
Procedure
citizens can evaluate the
democratic process
Content Results
Satisfies expectatives for
government
Liberty and equality

20. Madrid democracy deepening
Legitimacy/results Representation/content
• Madrid audits Madrid
• Municipal office against fraud
and corruption
• New transparency portal
• New processes (presents +
advertising)
• Madrid audits Madrid
• Horizontal integration grassroot
movements
• Open party participation
• Decide Madrid
• Referendums
• Protenction minorities

21. Criticism
• Low citizen engagement (under 8%)
• Poor wording for referéndum questions
• Primacy of vertical logic over horizontal
• Overrepresentation netizens and Ahora Madrid supporters in digital platforms
• Relationship with the press (Ahora Madrid blog commenting news from the media)

22. • Akkerman, Weyland, Abts and Rumments: incompatible.
• Mudde: “ugly”, erodes rights of minorities, prevents coalitions.
• Laclau: populism contingent to democracy.
Populism and democracy

23. Conclusions
• New populist experiments (Inclusive populism?)
• Non-populist parties eroded Spanish democracy. Populist parties are
deepening it.

24. Thanks!
By Bruno Rodríguez