Pandemia, populismo y políticas públicas: ¿una reacción tardía?

The emergence of populist leaders has shown a sustained growth in the last decade. Much has been studied about its causes, but less is known about its consequences. The pandemic implies an almost synchronous and global exogenous shock, which allowed us to study the response of this type of government to a crisis. Thus, we wonder if the response of those countries ruled by populist leaders differed from that of their non-populist peers. To answer this question, we use two global data sources: one on populism and another on the policy response of countries to the pandemic. Using econometric panel data specifications, the data confirm our initial hypothesis of a weak response from these leaders to the initial shock of the pandemic. Our findings partially confirm some previous results; however, our evidence suggest that this response is not linear and could vary over time. This work is useful in two ways. In an empirical level, it is shown that populist rhetoric has consequences, beyond the discursive, in the way of carrying out public policies. In addition, it contributes to the conceptual discussion of the phenomenon of populism, validating its importance.