Sagasti will ease pre-election tensions in Peru

Significance The new government will bring a much-needed easing of tensions following the widespread protests that met the short-lived presidency of Manuel Merino. Sagasti should be able to count on support from Congress and himself avoid impeachment. His cabinet is technically competent. The issue of constitutional reform is likely to gain salience over the period of election campaigning. Impacts The economy will revive in 2021, but not sufficiently to offset the sharp fall this year. Plans to draft a new constitution in Chile will add to pressures for constitutional reform. The proliferation of presidential candidates means the elections will go to a second round.

Significance The debate over constitutional reform will be enlivened by the upcoming election of a constituent convention in Chile on the same day as the Peruvian elections. Impacts Constitutional change may become a banner for the left elsewhere in Latin America. Future constitutional reforms may reconsider the status of indigenous communities in the Amazon. Workers’ rights, include labour stability, may be strengthened.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Lego Munoz ◽  
Terri Towner

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how exposure to a presidential candidate's high engagement Instagram images influences a citizen's candidate evaluations.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via Amazon MTurk. A 3 × 2 experimental design was employed to test the persuasive effect of exposure of the “most liked” and “most commented on” images of the top four 2016 US presidential primary candidates on a US citizen's candidate evaluation.FindingsResults reveal that highly engaging Instagram images of unfamiliar presidential candidates positively influenced candidate evaluations. However, the same was not true for more well-known presidential candidates.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was not conducted during a live campaign and only examined four of the top 2016 presidential primary candidates.Practical implicationsThe research includes implications for marketers seeking to increase engagement and reach in Instagram marketing campaigns. This study shows that even brief exposure to a highly engaged post involving an unfamiliar person/product on social media can significantly alter evaluations of that person or product.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, no experimental designs have addressed how Instagram posts influence users' political attitudes and behaviors within the political marketing and communications literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary N. Powell ◽  
D. Anthony Butterfield ◽  
Xueting Jiang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions of the “Ideal President” (IP) and presidential candidates in the 2016 US presidential election in relation to gender stereotypes and leader prototypes. Design/methodology/approach In all, 378 business students assessed perceptions of either the IP or a particular candidate on measures of masculinity and femininity. Androgyny (balance of masculinity and femininity) and hypermasculinity (extremely high masculinity) scores were calculated from these measures. Findings The IP was perceived as higher in masculinity than femininity, but less similar to the male (Donald Trump) than the female (Hillary Clinton) candidate. IP perceptions were more androgynous than in the 2008 US presidential election. Respondents’ political preferences were related to their IP perceptions on hypermasculinity, which in turn were consistent with perceptions of their preferred candidate. Social implications Trump’s high hypermasculinity scores may explain why he won the electoral college vote, whereas Clinton’s being perceived as more similar to the IP, and IP perceptions’ becoming more androgynous over time, may explain why she won the popular vote. Originality/value The study extends the literature on the linkages between gender stereotypes and leader prototypes in two respects. Contrary to the general assumption of a shared leader prototype, it demonstrates the existence of different leader prototypes according to political preference. The hypermasculinity construct, which was introduced to interpret leader prototypes in light of Trump’s candidacy and election, represents a valuable addition to the literature with potentially greater explanatory power than masculinity in some situations.


Subject The outlook for constitutional reform and presidential re-election. Significance Since the government announced its intention to revise the constitution to allow President Rafael Correa to seek re-election in 2017, the opposition has resisted the move. Various parties and coalitions have attempted to call a referendum on the issue using mechanisms in the 2008 constitution to enable greater public participation in political decision-making. The government has used its influence over public institutions to block a referendum, fearing defeat at the polls. The outcome of the conflict remains unclear six months on from when the proposal was first announced. Impacts The fragmentation of the opposition will bolster government attempts to rebuff demands for a referendum. Denying the public the opportunity to vote on constitutional reform will undermine the legitimacy of the president and government. The economic fallout from low oil prices will complicate the government's political situation and allow for opposition gains.


Significance This follows the National League for Democracy (NLD) winning an absolute Union parliament majority, meaning it can form the next government alone and elect the next Union president. Impacts How the NLD develops its policy agenda will determine whether the country can attract greater foreign investment and aid. Progress on a nationwide ethnic ceasefire will likely be slow under the NLD. The military's view of itself as a political actor will constrain any moves by the NLD on constitutional reform.


Significance The island's government and public agencies hold 72 billion dollars of debt obligations, but migration to the mainland United States, political unwillingness to cut spending and constitutional difficulties have triggered a severe crisis. Federal US and Puerto Rican lawmakers are concerned that austerity-driven cuts to public services would only exacerbate the problems of the commonwealth. Impacts The Puerto Rican diaspora in Florida may punish Republicans at the ballot box in the event of federal inaction. Anti-gun-control policy 'riders' may scupper congressional efforts to aid Puerto Rico in March. Relief for Puerto Rico may become a vote-winning issue for Democratic presidential candidates in the party primaries.


Subject Anti-corruption protests. Significance Major anti-corruption marches in August underlined ongoing popular frustration with the slow progress of official investigations into the Odebrecht corruption scandal. While President Daniel Medina has pledged to investigate all wrongdoing and bring culprits to justice, few formal prosecutions have yet been launched. Popular disillusionment with the government could therefore threaten Medina’s plans for a constitutional reform to permit unlimited presidential re-election. Impacts Marcha Verde is likely to step up its protest activity as pre-campaigning begins for the 2020 elections. Ongoing political noise about corruption could deter some investment, particularly in the construction sector. US relations may suffer due to the OFAC action against Bautista, and the cutting of diplomatic ties with Taiwan.


Significance The statement comes against a move by Bouteflika to undercut an effort by Ouyahia to promote privatisation as part of a strategy for dealing with the sharp fall in oil and gas revenue, which has saddled the country with large fiscal and balance-of-payments deficits. Bouteflika’s intervention took the form of a decree stating that his office must have the final say on the sale of any state asset. It was issued within days of Ouyahia announcing a new privatisation policy. Impacts There is a risk that the combination of supply restrictions and loose monetary policy will drive up inflation. The import ban will attract foreign investors to import substitution projects, but they will be loath to put in much capital and technology. Checking Ouyahia’s ambitions is an important element in the plans for Bouteflika’s circle to prolong their grip on power.


Subject Tanzanian constitutional reform Significance Political, religious and civil society leaders are calling for constitutional reform before the 2020 elections. These demands are underpinned by rising fears for the future of Tanzania’s multi-party democracy, which add to existing concerns over the concentration of power in the executive branch. Impacts A new constitution will be an opportunity to enshrine popular resource-nationalist principles behind recent natural resources legislation. The issue of Zanzibar's place in the union will come to the fore, creating an unstable environment for the 2020 elections there. The government will likely ease repression of dissenting voices in order to give a review process credibility.


Subject The political debate about taxation in the United States. Significance The 2020 election in November will be fought over a wide array of policy areas, but one of the central debates will be over the appropriate taxation policy to pay for candidates’ pledges, without undermining the economy. Democratic presidential candidates, who enter primary elections from February to decide the nominee, have made major spending proposals. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, the assumed Republican nominee, wants more tax cuts. Given political concern about increasing taxes, and US demographic changes, there is increasing attention towards assessing new areas for tax income. Impacts The complexity of the tax code and of avoidance strategies could grow, incentivising recourse to lawyers and accountants. The Democrats will be divided over capital gains taxes, which are likely to be problematic for Democratic donors. If a wealth tax passed, a Supreme Court ruling would be likely to limit Congress’s taxing ability.


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