De Grondona a Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. De la república liberal a la república popular

In this research we set to analyze different readings of two fundamental concepts of political theory: "Republic" and "Populism ". In our view, these two categories are central for understanding and analyzing a very recent era of Argentina’s history.

In the first two chapters we identify a way of thinking these concepts as articulated but mutually exclusionary. In effect, in Mariano Grondona and in the Alliance’s discourse we found an exclusionary relationship between these concepts that stated: Republic or Populism. It was a plea for a Republic that was articulated, in a zero-sum way, with a denunciation of Populism.

In the last chapter we propose an analysis of the political process that began in May 25, 2003: the "Kirchner model". The Republic of the “Kirchner model” and its relationship with Populism can be read as a conjunction: Republic and Populism. Moreover, the "Kirchner model" refers to an idea of Popular Republic that requires for its complete definition a component that was absent in the references of the first two chapters: Democracy or Democratization. So, the "Kirchner model" can and should be read as a "People's Republic in democratizing perspective".