Daily: ¡Populista! The deadly allure of Latin America’s left wing strongmen

<p>Before right wing populists set about ruining the world, it was Latin America’s left wing populists – the likes of Chávez, Ortega and Castro –&nbsp;who rattled the West and threw their own countries into tumult. Why is the strongman’s hold on his country’s politics so unyielding? <strong>Will Grant</strong>, BBC Latin America correspondent and author of <a href="https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Will-Grant/Populista--The-Rise-of-Latin-Americas-21st-Century-Strongman/24621309" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Populista!</em></a>, joins us from Mexico City to explain how the people’s representatives became authoritarians and despots, what it’s like as a journalist targeted by a real-world army of footsoldiers as well as online trolls, and certain dictators’ early fondness for Blairism…&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><ul><li>“It was a real baptism of fire living under Chávez. As the media, you were always in his line of fire.”&nbsp;</li><li>“We saw godlike status being bestowed on some very fallible men”</li><li>“Some of these men are frighteningly militaristic and conservative… They created the conditions for the likes of Bolsonaro.”&nbsp;</li><li>“Reagan’s obsession with Ortega was huge… His fixation fuelled a war that killed thousands.”&nbsp;</li><li>“There’s a real appeal of the <em>caudillo</em>, the strongman who will come in and sort it all out.”</li><li>“Living and working in these environments, it stretches you as a journalist like nothing else.”&nbsp;</li></ul><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><em>Presented by Dorian Lynskey Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. </em><strong><em>THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.</em></strong></p> &#10;&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color: grey; font - size: 0.75em; '>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>