8 - Theoretical Conclusions and Political Implications

Summary

The final chapter concludes by summarizing the argument and identifies three major challenges for the reproduction of intense attachment. The main theoretical lesson of the FA case is that a political organization can remain vital over time and reproduce itself when the organization affords grassroots activists a potentially significant role through rules and through actors who ensure the enforcement of such rules. Nevertheless, the analysis did not aim to predict whether this organizational structure will continue to reproduce itself or whether FA grassroots activists will continue to exhibit intense levels of engagement in the future. The chapter also identifies three major challenges facing the FA. First, the FA is subject to the temptation of transforming its internal structure into a broad network of adherents who exhibit low levels of participation. This change would reduce individuals’ incentives to invest in developing the organization. Second, for Uruguay’s younger generation, the FA has always been the party in government. This creates a challenge for the FA to create a narrative that preserves its transformative vision of the future. Third, the FA faces political-economy challenges that confront any successful political organization in a developing country, especially the tension between growth and redistribution and the challenge of incorporating and politically organizing the poor and informal sectors.