Clientelist Mobilisation and Unequal Participation: Evidence From Latin America

Abstract

Does clientelist mobilisation merely raise turnout, or does it change who participates? This article assesses whether clientelism is associated with narrower participation inequalities in Latin America, using LAPOP surveys covering 46 elections in 17 countries (2010–2019). When respondents report clientelist outreach, the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and participation is weaker. For voting, model-based estimates indicate an 8-point reduction in the education gap and a 4.3-point reduction in the wealth gap, patterns driven by higher participation among low-SES citizens and little change at the top. For protest, reported offers correlate with higher participation across SES; the education gap shows little change, as predicted participation rises relatively uniformly with schooling years, while the wealth gradient appears to compress by 2.6 points, with larger increases among lower-wealth deciles and smaller increases among higher-wealth groups. Taken together, the patterns suggest a redistributive footprint in political participation, prompting renewed debate over the democratic trade-offs of clientelism in terms of mobilisation and representation.