Abstract
This article argues for the need to distinguish two dimensions constituting politicians' relationships to party systems: politicians are classified as either outsiders or insiders, depending on their party system origins, and as either anti-party or party-tolerant, depending on their discourse vis-a-vis the party system. Using data gathered from the recent Parliamentary Elites of Latin America survey in Peru, I find that party system origins and discourse vary significantly with party membership and with legislators' views on three sets of important political issues: (1) democracy, elections and parties, (2) human rights and the role of the armed forces, and (3) the economy, labor and the role of the state. In addition, contrary to widely shared assumptions, both anti-party and party-tolerant outsiders in Peru show a greater affinity for the ideological center than for the right, while both groups showed a marked disaffinity for the political left.
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