Uruguay's Frente Amplio was founded in 1971 as a coalition of left and center-left political organizations to oppose the increasingly authoritarian government of Jorge Pacheco Areco. At the height of Latin America's Cold War, during an era when many activists were turning away from traditional political parties, the Frente Amplio rank-and-file demanded the creation of a bottom-up movement and a voice in party decision-making. From its inception, the Frente Amplio attracted members who joined the party via its base committees, which forced the coalition's leaders to develop a common structure that included the grassroots movement in almost all levels of the organization. The authors of the volume under review argue that party activism was “locked in” at the birth of the Frente Amplio, and that this accounts for its ability to maintain high levels of organizational vitality and participation for almost 50 years.
The book is organized into eight chapters that focus on the evolution of the Frente Amplio internal party structures that facilitate activism. Foremost among them are a system of “checks and balances” limiting the ability of elites to dictate the course of the party and formal statutes that give grassroots activists a voice. Among others, these characteristics reinforce “perceived efficacy” among Frente Amplio members: activists recognize that their contributions influence the party. This, in turn, helps entice new members and reproduces the Frente Amplio's grassroots base. The authors use a mixed-method research strategy of thick description, surveys, and interviews with party activists and elites. They also present a broad history of the Frente Amplio, from its founding before the military regime took power in 1973 to its role in Uruguay's return to constitutional rule in 1985, and from its efforts to block austerity in the 1990s to its electoral victory in 2004, which ushered in a decade of Frente Amplio governments that formed part of Latin America's “left turn” at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
The volume's extensive interviews offer rich insights into the role of the base committees, which the authors describe as the life-force of the party. At the time of writing, 300 base committees functioned nationwide, gathering approximately 7,000 activists on a weekly basis. During meetings, activists address a range of concerns pertaining to party matters, municipal politics, and global events. Frente Amplio party elites and faction leaders do not manage this participation. Volunteers and activists receive no monetary compensation for their work, nor do they have the resources to deliver clientelistic goods to party supporters. According to the authors, this has allowed the Frente Amplio to avoid the professionalization and “oligarchization” that have hobbled other leftist parties in Latin America.
The final chapter provides a detailed comparison of the Frente Amplio with other mass-organic parties of the left in the region, most notably Brazil's Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT). It traces how its leaders gradually deprived activists of an “efficacious voice” and transformed the organization into a “professional electoral party.” By contrast, the authors conclude, the Frente Amplio's unique structure, which consistently makes room for the grassroots movement, has preserved it as a mass party beholden to its activist base.
The authors present a compelling portrait of the inner workings of one of the most dynamic and enduring political parties of the left in Latin America. They make a significant contribution regarding the importance of grassroots mobilization and the centrality of party rules and internal organization to explain the Frente Amplio's resilience. This clear and well-organized volume will be a useful resource for scholars and students of Latin American politics interested in political parties and the challenges confronting democracies in the region.
