We investigate populism’s effects in countries experiencing severe economic inequality. We posit that left populist parties use strong redistributive poli- cies (which tackle the roots of political dissatisfaction) and anti-elite rhetoric (which increases credibility in electoral pledges) to build electoral support. In turn, this policy and rhetorical innovation raises political trust among left populist voters, especially with their party in power.

We test our argument in Latin America, using a repeated cross-section individual-level dataset (1995– 2020) and two original survey experiments. We find strong evidence that left populist parties increase social spending, reduce inequality, and elevate political trust among their voters. This positive effect on trust is driven by both electoral pledges to implement generous redistributive policies and these policies’ actual economic outcomes. The trust increase proves long-term and driven by policy position rather than partisanship. Trust does not increase among voters of other party families, including right populist parties.

Keywords: Inequality, populism, political trust, redistribution.

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