We are happy to announce a new article, “When the Populist Leader Leaves: The Manufacture of the Successor's Charisma,” by Nelson Arteaga Botello.
“Civil sphere theory shows that the risk of left- and right-wing populism is how quickly institutions are reformed to generate civil reparation in the people's name. Sometimes, the populist leader cannot finish reforms because democratic rules block them from staying in power. When this happens, the leader leaves the political project to an heir. This requires manufacturing the heir's charisma through objects and ideological programs that make the heir seem charismatic. This article examines how President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018–2024) manufactured the charisma of his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, to cement his populist project. Drawing on four leading Mexican newspapers, the paper analyzes how the Mexican civil sphere tries to steer the meaning of Sheinbaum's manufactured charisma. Empirically, the findings show how a populist leader selects a successor, how that successor chooses to continue the legacy, and how strong devotion to a populist leader's cause becomes a program with its own moral weight. These contributions help civil sphere theory by showing how disputes over charisma are constructed and by broadening future research on civil dynamics in Latin America and other regions facing meaning-making battles over populism in democracy.”
Nelson Arteaga Botello
Arteaga Botello, N. 2026. When the Populist Leader Leaves: The Manufacture of the Successor's Charisma. Int J Polit Cult Soc. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-026-09596-y
