Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-v2bm5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-09T13:32:55.799Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Political Parties and Governors as Determinants of Legislative Behavior in Brazil's Chamber of Deputies, 1988–2006

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

José Antonio Cheibub ,
Argelina Figueiredo  and
Fernando Limongi
José Antonio Cheibub
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Urbana—Champaign. cheibub@uiuc.edu
Argelina Figueiredo
Affiliation:
Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro (IUPERJ) and Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento (CEBRAP). argelina@iuperj.br
Fernando Limongi
Affiliation:
University of São Paulo. fdmplimo@usp.br
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article examines the relative importance of regional and national forces in shaping the behavior of Brazilian legislators at the national level. A widely held view is that national legislators respond to state pressures in making decisions, rather than pressures from the national government. Governors not only can influence national debates but also can determine outcomes by exerting control over their states' legislative delegations. This article examines a dataset of all roll-call votes in the Chamber of Deputies between 1989 and 2006 to isolate and evaluate the impact of local pressures on legislative voting. Spanning the terms of five presidents and five different congresses, the data show that the local influence is weaker than the national on the voting decisions of individual legislators and the voting cohesion of state delegations. Alternative institutional resources allow the central government to counteract the centrifugal pressures of federalism and other institutional influences.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 51 , Issue 1 , Spring 2009 , pp. 1 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrucio, Fernando Luiz. 1998. Os barões da federação: os governadores e a redemocratização brasileira. São Paulo: Hucitec.Google Scholar
Alston, Lee J., André Melo, Marcus, Mueller, Bernardo, and Pereira, Carlos. 2006. Political Institutions, Policy Making Processes and Policy Outcomes in Brazil. Research Network Working Paper R-509. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, Latin American Research Network.Google Scholar
Ames, Barry. 2001. The Deadlock of Democracy in Brazil. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Armijo, , Elliot, Leslie, Faucher, Philippe, and Dembinska, Magdalena. 2006. Compared to What? Assessing Brazil's Political Institutions. Comparative Political Studies 39, 6: 759–86.Google Scholar
Arretche, Marta. 2000. Estado federativo e políticas sociais: determinantes da decentralização. Rio de Janeiro: Revan/Fapesp.Google Scholar
Arretche, Marta. 2004. Toward a Unified and More Equitable System: Health Reform in Brazil. In Crucial Needs, Weak Incentives: Social Sector Reform, Democratization, and Globalization in Latin America, ed. Kaufman, Robert R. and Nelson, Joan. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center/John Hopkins University Press. 155–88.Google Scholar
Arretche, Marta, and Rodden, Jonathan. 2004. Política distributiva na federação: estratégias eleitorais, barganhas legislativas e coalizões de governo. Dados 47, 3: 549–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brambor, , Thomas, , Roberts Clark, William, and Golder, Matt. 2005. Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analysis. Political Analysis 13: 1–20.Google Scholar
Cardoso, Fernando Henrique. 1977. Dos governos militares a Prudente-Campos Sales. In História geral da civilização brasileira, ed. Fausto, Boris. São Paulo: DIFEL. 13–50.Google Scholar
Carey, John M. 2007. Competing Principals, Political Institutions, and Party Unity in Legislative Voting. American Journal of Political Science 51, 1: 92–107.Google Scholar
Carey, John M., and Yannitell Reinhardt, Gina. 2003. Impacto das instituições estaduais na unidade das coalizões parlamentares no Brasil. Dados 46, 4: 773–804.Google Scholar
Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento (CEBRAP). n.d. Roll-call dataset. <http://www.cebrap.org.br/index.asp> Accessed March 3, 2008.+Accessed+March+3,+2008.>Google Scholar
Cheibub, José Antonio, Przeworski, Adam, and Saiegh, Sebastian. 2004. Government Coalition and Legislative Effectiveness under Parliamentarism and Presidentialism. British Journal of Political Science 34: 568–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheibub, , Antonio, José, Figueiredo, Argelina, and Limongi, Fernando. 2002. Presidential Agenda Power and Decision-Making in Presidential Regimes: Governors and Political Parties in the Brazilian Congress. Paper prepared for delivery at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, August 29–September 1.Google Scholar
Desposato, Scott. 2004. The Impact of Federalism on National Party Cohesion in Brazil. Legislative Studies Quarterly 29: 259–85.Google Scholar
Desposato, Scott. 2006. Correcting for Small Group Inflation of Roll-Call Cohesion Scores. British Journal of Political Science 35, 4: 731–44.Google Scholar
Eaton, Kent, and Tyler Dickovick, J.. 2004. The Politics of Recentralization in Argentina and Brazil. Latin American Research Review 39, 1: 91–122.Google Scholar
Figueiredo, Argelina, and Limongi, Fernando. 1999. Executivo e legislativo na nova ordem constitucional. Rio de Janeiro: FGV.Google Scholar
Figueiredo, Argelina, and Limongi, Fernando. 2000. Presidential Power, Legislative Organization, and Party Behavior in the Legislature. Comparative Politics 32, 2: 151–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gomes, Angela Maria de Castro, ed. 1980. Regionalismo e centralizçaõ política: partidos e constituinte nos anos 30. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira.Google Scholar
Hagopian, Frances. 1996. Traditional Politics and Regime Change in Brazil. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
King, David C., and Zeckhauseer, Richard. 2003. Congressional Vote Options. Legislative Studies Quarterly 28: 387–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith. 1993. Where's the Party British Journal of Political Science 23, 2: 235–66.Google Scholar
Kugelmas, Eduardo, and Sola, Lourdes. 1999. Recentralização/descentralização: dinâmica do regime federativo no Brasil nos anos 90. Tempo Social: Revista de Sociologia da USP 11, 2.Google Scholar
Leal, Victor Nunes. 1997. Coronelismo, enxada e voto: o município e o regime representativo no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira.Google Scholar
Levine, Robert M. 1978. Pernambuco in the Brazilian Federation, 1889–1937. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Love, Joseph L. 1971. Rio Grande do Sul and Brazilian Regionalism, 1882–1930. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Love, Joseph L. 1980. São Paulo in the Brazilian Federation, 1889–1937. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott. 1997. Multipartism, Robust Federalism, and Presidentialism in Brazil. In Presidentialism and Democracy in Latin America, ed. Mainwaring, and Shugart, Matthew. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 55–109.Google Scholar
Melo, Marcus André. 2005. O sucesso inesperado das reformas de segunda geração: federalismo, reformas constitucionais e políticas sociais. Dados 48, 4: 845–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Néri, Marcelo. 2005. Miséria em queda: mensuração, monitoramento e metas. Revista Conjuntura Econômica 59, 12: 38–40.Google Scholar
Queiroz, Maria Pereira de, Isaura. 1969. O mandonismo local na vida política brasileira (da colônia à primeira república). São Paulo: Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros, Universidade de São Paulo.Google Scholar
Rodden, Jonathan A. 2006. Hamilton's Paradox: The Promise and Peril of Fiscal Federalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Saiegh, Sebastian. 2004. Government Defeat: Coalitions, Responsiveness, and Legislative Performance. Ph.D. diss., New York University.Google Scholar
Samuels, David. 2000. Ambition and Competition: Explaining Legislative Turnover in Brazil. Legislative Studies Quarterly 25, 3 (August): 481–97.Google Scholar
Samuels, David, and Mainwaring, Scott. 2004. Strong Federalism, Constraints on the Central Government, and Economic Reform in Brazil. In Federalism and Democracy in Latin America, ed. Gibson, Edward L.. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 85–130.Google Scholar
Soares, , Sergei, , Guerreiro Osório, Rafael, Veras Soares, Fábio, Medeiros, Marcelo, and Zepeda, Eduardo. 2007. Programas de transferência condicionada de renda no Brasil, Chile e México: impacto sobre a desigualdade. Unpublished mss. Brasília: IPEA.Google Scholar
Stepan, Alfred. 1999. Federalism and Democracy: beyond the U.S. Model. Journal of Democracy 10, 4: 19–34.Google Scholar
Stepan, Alfred. 2000. Brazil's Decentralized Federalism: Bringing Government Closer to Citizens Daedalus 29, 2: 145–70.Google Scholar
Stepan, Alfred. 2004. Toward a New Comparative Politics of Federalism, Multinationalism, and Democracy: Beyond Rikerian Federalism. In Federalism and Democracy in Latin America, ed. Gibson, Edward L.. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 29–84.Google Scholar
Willis, , Eliza, , Garman, Christopher, and Haggard, Stephan. 1999. The Politics of Decentralization in Latin America. Latin American Research Review 34, 1: 7–56.Google Scholar
Wirth, John D. 1977. Minas Gerais in the Brazilian Federation, 1889–1937. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar