Pub Date : 2021-12-01DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211063824
Merike Blofield
COVID-19 has hit Latin America particularly hard, both in terms of contagions and deaths as well as economic effects from the pandemic-associated fallout. Though the region is home to just eight percent of the world’s population, it has suffered more than 30 percent of global COVID deaths. Latin America also experienced in 2020/21 the most severe economic crisis of any region, with a seven percent GDP contraction, compared to a global contraction of 3.3 percent. The pandemic hit the region at a time of rising dissatisfaction with representative politics, frustration that had spilled on to the streets in massive protests across the region starting late 2019. Governments implemented containment measures of varying degrees, established states of health emergency, and assembled economic rescue packages to address the fallout. Protests died out, at least initially, and in some cases, for example Peru and Argentina, public approval of government during early lockdowns measures was extremely high. Almost two years into the pandemic, it is possible to make some systematic assessments of the varying effects of COVID-19 on the political systems in Latin America; how they have exacerbated or allayed existing trends in politics and policy. This rich set of original research addresses some of these dimensions, specifically, on representation and governance, and on communication and political behavior. Three of the articles address government or party strategies. In “Governing a Pandemic: Assessing the Role of Collaboration on Latin American Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis”, Jennifer Cyr, Matías Bianchi, Lucas González and Antonella Perini find, drawing on an original cross-country dataset and case studies of Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, that national governments that were more collaborative -ie
{"title":"Introduction to thematic issue on COVID-19 and politics in Latin America","authors":"Merike Blofield","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211063824","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211063824","url":null,"abstract":"COVID-19 has hit Latin America particularly hard, both in terms of contagions and deaths as well as economic effects from the pandemic-associated fallout. Though the region is home to just eight percent of the world’s population, it has suffered more than 30 percent of global COVID deaths. Latin America also experienced in 2020/21 the most severe economic crisis of any region, with a seven percent GDP contraction, compared to a global contraction of 3.3 percent. The pandemic hit the region at a time of rising dissatisfaction with representative politics, frustration that had spilled on to the streets in massive protests across the region starting late 2019. Governments implemented containment measures of varying degrees, established states of health emergency, and assembled economic rescue packages to address the fallout. Protests died out, at least initially, and in some cases, for example Peru and Argentina, public approval of government during early lockdowns measures was extremely high. Almost two years into the pandemic, it is possible to make some systematic assessments of the varying effects of COVID-19 on the political systems in Latin America; how they have exacerbated or allayed existing trends in politics and policy. This rich set of original research addresses some of these dimensions, specifically, on representation and governance, and on communication and political behavior. Three of the articles address government or party strategies. In “Governing a Pandemic: Assessing the Role of Collaboration on Latin American Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis”, Jennifer Cyr, Matías Bianchi, Lucas González and Antonella Perini find, drawing on an original cross-country dataset and case studies of Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, that national governments that were more collaborative -ie","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"13 1","pages":"287 - 289"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43299681","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-01DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211058739
Mariana Borges Martins da Silva, Malu A. C. Gatto
What happens when a traditional source of political capital becomes a health hazard? Stigmatized electoral practices, such as vote buying, are a double-edged sword: While these strategies may signal candidates’ electoral strength, they may also entail reputational costs. In normal times, street campaigns are a non-stigmatized electoral practice. During the Covid-19 pandemic, however, they imposed health risks. Employing data from a national survey experiment conducted in Brazil prior to the 2020 municipal elections (N = 2025), we extend research on the employment of stigmatized campaigns and the gendered dynamics of electoral viability. We find that voters evaluate candidates who engage in face-to-face activities as less electorally viable and report lower intent to support them. These dynamics do not impact all candidates equally: Voters more harshly punish women candidates who conduct street campaigns than men, leading women to lose the advantage they have over men when both employ non-stigmatized campaign practices.
{"title":"Stigmatized Campaign Practices and the Gendered Dynamics of Electoral Viability","authors":"Mariana Borges Martins da Silva, Malu A. C. Gatto","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211058739","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211058739","url":null,"abstract":"What happens when a traditional source of political capital becomes a health hazard? Stigmatized electoral practices, such as vote buying, are a double-edged sword: While these strategies may signal candidates’ electoral strength, they may also entail reputational costs. In normal times, street campaigns are a non-stigmatized electoral practice. During the Covid-19 pandemic, however, they imposed health risks. Employing data from a national survey experiment conducted in Brazil prior to the 2020 municipal elections (N = 2025), we extend research on the employment of stigmatized campaigns and the gendered dynamics of electoral viability. We find that voters evaluate candidates who engage in face-to-face activities as less electorally viable and report lower intent to support them. These dynamics do not impact all candidates equally: Voters more harshly punish women candidates who conduct street campaigns than men, leading women to lose the advantage they have over men when both employ non-stigmatized campaign practices.","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"13 1","pages":"376 - 399"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41410755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-11-26DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211058742
Angélica Abad Cisneros, Raúl Aldaz Peña, Diana Dávila Gordillo, Sebastián Vallejo Vera
There is a growing interest to evaluate the political aftermath of the pandemic. We study how parties attract voters under the redistributive pressure created by COVID-19, looking into the 2021 Ecuadorian elections. We classify the messages that candidates sent, evaluate if and how candidates used COVID-19 to mobilize voters, and assess how voters reacted to them. We followed 858 virtual events and gathered more than 1’575.000 tweets from candidates and their communities. We find that candidates did not place COVID-19 at the center of their strategies but used it to connect with symbolic messages about the capabilities of parties and candidates. Twitter users had a limited engagement with COVID-19-related content. These findings nuance our expectations of the pandemic. COVID-19 was only an element rather than the core of electoral strategies. Our empirical approach can be easily extended to other cases where in-person events are still limited.
{"title":"Believe in me: Parties’ Strategies During a Pandemic, Evidence from Ecuador","authors":"Angélica Abad Cisneros, Raúl Aldaz Peña, Diana Dávila Gordillo, Sebastián Vallejo Vera","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211058742","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211058742","url":null,"abstract":"There is a growing interest to evaluate the political aftermath of the pandemic. We study how parties attract voters under the redistributive pressure created by COVID-19, looking into the 2021 Ecuadorian elections. We classify the messages that candidates sent, evaluate if and how candidates used COVID-19 to mobilize voters, and assess how voters reacted to them. We followed 858 virtual events and gathered more than 1’575.000 tweets from candidates and their communities. We find that candidates did not place COVID-19 at the center of their strategies but used it to connect with symbolic messages about the capabilities of parties and candidates. Twitter users had a limited engagement with COVID-19-related content. These findings nuance our expectations of the pandemic. COVID-19 was only an element rather than the core of electoral strategies. Our empirical approach can be easily extended to other cases where in-person events are still limited.","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"13 1","pages":"419 - 441"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42693865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-29DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211049250
J. Cyr, Matías Bianchi, L. González, A. Perini
How do governments address complex, cross-sectoral problems, like the COVID-19 pandemic? Why were some Latin American countries more successful at containing the pandemic's most devastating health outcomes? We argue that national governments that were more collaborative in their response to COVID-19 were more successful in reducing death rates. Our original dataset offers a novel attempt to operationalise collaborative governance (CG). We undertake simple statistical tests to measure the relationship between CG and COVID-19-related mortality rates in Latin America. We then choose three case studies to assess whether collaboration was meaningful in practice. Initial evidence suggests governments that pursued CG were more effective at containing mortality rates early on in the pandemic. The collaboration helped to foster cooperation over resources; buy time to prepare for a potential case surge; and produce a unified message regarding what citizens should do to prevent viral spread.
{"title":"Governing a Pandemic: Assessing the Role of Collaboration on Latin American Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis","authors":"J. Cyr, Matías Bianchi, L. González, A. Perini","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211049250","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211049250","url":null,"abstract":"How do governments address complex, cross-sectoral problems, like the COVID-19 pandemic? Why were some Latin American countries more successful at containing the pandemic's most devastating health outcomes? We argue that national governments that were more collaborative in their response to COVID-19 were more successful in reducing death rates. Our original dataset offers a novel attempt to operationalise collaborative governance (CG). We undertake simple statistical tests to measure the relationship between CG and COVID-19-related mortality rates in Latin America. We then choose three case studies to assess whether collaboration was meaningful in practice. Initial evidence suggests governments that pursued CG were more effective at containing mortality rates early on in the pandemic. The collaboration helped to foster cooperation over resources; buy time to prepare for a potential case surge; and produce a unified message regarding what citizens should do to prevent viral spread.","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"13 1","pages":"290 - 327"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47050347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-10-27DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211052625
A. Janusz, C. Sells
Party elites may hinder racial and ethnic minorities from winning public office by withholding resources. Prior studies have explored the distribution of money, media access, and party-list positions. In Brazil, party elites provide each candidate with a unique identification number. Voters must enter their preferred candidate’s identification number into an electronic voting machine to register their support. In this article, we replicate and extend Bueno and Dunning’s (2017) analysis of candidate identification numbers. They conclude that party elites do not provide white candidates with superior identification numbers than non-whites. We contend that assessing intraparty variation is theoretically and methodologically warranted. Using party fixed effects, we find that party elites provide non-white candidates with worse identification numbers than whites. We demonstrate that our findings are generalisable using data from other elections. Moreover, we show that party elites also withhold advantageous numbers from women and political novices.
{"title":"Race and Campaign Resources: Candidate Identification Numbers in Brazil","authors":"A. Janusz, C. Sells","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211052625","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211052625","url":null,"abstract":"Party elites may hinder racial and ethnic minorities from winning public office by withholding resources. Prior studies have explored the distribution of money, media access, and party-list positions. In Brazil, party elites provide each candidate with a unique identification number. Voters must enter their preferred candidate’s identification number into an electronic voting machine to register their support. In this article, we replicate and extend Bueno and Dunning’s (2017) analysis of candidate identification numbers. They conclude that party elites do not provide white candidates with superior identification numbers than non-whites. We contend that assessing intraparty variation is theoretically and methodologically warranted. Using party fixed effects, we find that party elites provide non-white candidates with worse identification numbers than whites. We demonstrate that our findings are generalisable using data from other elections. Moreover, we show that party elites also withhold advantageous numbers from women and political novices.","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"14 1","pages":"211 - 223"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44477377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-09-06DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211039860
Karabekir Akkoyunlu, José Antonio Lima
Between 2016 and 2020, a group of activist generals successfully plotted the Brazilian military's gradual return to the political center stage with powers unseen since the dictatorship. They achieved this without formally breaking the law, suspending the democratic process or overthrowing the government. We call this a “stealth intervention,” an incremental yet systematic attempt to redesign politics without causing a rupture, that fits neither in the existing typology of coups nor in the literature on democratic backsliding. We argue that Brazil’s stealth intervention, built upon the military’s existing tutelary prerogatives and driven by an unreformed praetorian worldview that resurfaced amidst a sustained crisis of democracy, challenges the prevalent view of the armed forces as a reactive force that intervenes in civilian politics only when its institutional interests are threatened. Finally, we show that democratic backsliding in Brazil started under Bolsonaro’s predecessor, Michel Temer, and point to the generals’ understudied role in this process.
{"title":"Brazil’s Stealth Military Intervention","authors":"Karabekir Akkoyunlu, José Antonio Lima","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211039860","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211039860","url":null,"abstract":"Between 2016 and 2020, a group of activist generals successfully plotted the Brazilian military's gradual return to the political center stage with powers unseen since the dictatorship. They achieved this without formally breaking the law, suspending the democratic process or overthrowing the government. We call this a “stealth intervention,” an incremental yet systematic attempt to redesign politics without causing a rupture, that fits neither in the existing typology of coups nor in the literature on democratic backsliding. We argue that Brazil’s stealth intervention, built upon the military’s existing tutelary prerogatives and driven by an unreformed praetorian worldview that resurfaced amidst a sustained crisis of democracy, challenges the prevalent view of the armed forces as a reactive force that intervenes in civilian politics only when its institutional interests are threatened. Finally, we show that democratic backsliding in Brazil started under Bolsonaro’s predecessor, Michel Temer, and point to the generals’ understudied role in this process.","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"14 1","pages":"31 - 54"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48346920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-24DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211034187
E. E. Cia Alves, Rodrigo Barros de Albuquerque, Marcos Alan S. V. Ferreira, C. Monteiro
Participation in democratic regimes has been a central issue in foreign policy (FP) studies. This article seeks to contribute to the empirical discussion about FP participation through the analysis of the public consultation process conducted by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with non-state actors in the context of the preparations for the Paris Climate Agreement (2015). We employed automated text analysis using Python and R qualifying open responses submitted to the questionnaire launched at the first round of the consultations process and comparing them to the official document presented by Brazil establishing its own carbon emission targets. We found that the Brazilian academia members had a relevant influence on the content of the final document presented by Brazil, strengthening the literature on the importance of the epistemic community to environmental politics and raising new questions on the paths of foreign policy influence.
{"title":"Do Non-State Actors Influence Climate Change Policy? Evidence from the Brazilian Nationally Determined Contributions for COP21","authors":"E. E. Cia Alves, Rodrigo Barros de Albuquerque, Marcos Alan S. V. Ferreira, C. Monteiro","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211034187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211034187","url":null,"abstract":"Participation in democratic regimes has been a central issue in foreign policy (FP) studies. This article seeks to contribute to the empirical discussion about FP participation through the analysis of the public consultation process conducted by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with non-state actors in the context of the preparations for the Paris Climate Agreement (2015). We employed automated text analysis using Python and R qualifying open responses submitted to the questionnaire launched at the first round of the consultations process and comparing them to the official document presented by Brazil establishing its own carbon emission targets. We found that the Brazilian academia members had a relevant influence on the content of the final document presented by Brazil, strengthening the literature on the importance of the epistemic community to environmental politics and raising new questions on the paths of foreign policy influence.","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"14 1","pages":"120 - 140"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46040377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-11DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211035393
Miguel Carreras, Sofia B. Vera, G. Visconti
Research suggests that the coronavirus pandemic disproportionately affected poor communities. However, relatively little is known about how this differential impact affected support for, and compliance with, COVID-19 lockdown policies. This article examines the relationship between socioeconomic inequalities and public opinion towards COVID-19 containment measures in Peru. Despite the strict quarantine measures adopted by the government of Peru, the country struggled to contain the spread of the disease. We designed and implemented a nationally representative survey in Peru and found that economically vulnerable sectors are more likely to oppose the quarantine and are more likely to defy the stay-at-home recommendations to leave home and go to work. Our contribution highlights that poor citizens’ housing and economic conditions can explain why the poor are more likely to react negatively to COVID-19 lockdown policies.
{"title":"A Tale of Two Pandemics: Economic Inequality and Support for Containment Measures in Peru","authors":"Miguel Carreras, Sofia B. Vera, G. Visconti","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211035393","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211035393","url":null,"abstract":"Research suggests that the coronavirus pandemic disproportionately affected poor communities. However, relatively little is known about how this differential impact affected support for, and compliance with, COVID-19 lockdown policies. This article examines the relationship between socioeconomic inequalities and public opinion towards COVID-19 containment measures in Peru. Despite the strict quarantine measures adopted by the government of Peru, the country struggled to contain the spread of the disease. We designed and implemented a nationally representative survey in Peru and found that economically vulnerable sectors are more likely to oppose the quarantine and are more likely to defy the stay-at-home recommendations to leave home and go to work. Our contribution highlights that poor citizens’ housing and economic conditions can explain why the poor are more likely to react negatively to COVID-19 lockdown policies.","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"13 1","pages":"358 - 375"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47743015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-01DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211024245
Priscilla A. Lambert, Druscilla L. Scribner
Gender equality provisions have become nearly standard in constitutional design for new democracies. How do such provisions affect the ability of women’s rights advocates to achieve social change? To address this question, we compare the political use (legislation, policy, and judicial interpretation) of these provisions in Chile and Argentina, countries that differ with respect to how they have constitutionalised gender rights. The comparative analysis demonstrates how gender-specific constitutional provisions provide a legal basis and legitimacy for women’s rights advocates to advance new policy, protect policy gains, and pursue rights-based cases through the courts.
{"title":"Constitutions and Gender Equality in Chile and Argentina","authors":"Priscilla A. Lambert, Druscilla L. Scribner","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211024245","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211024245","url":null,"abstract":"Gender equality provisions have become nearly standard in constitutional design for new democracies. How do such provisions affect the ability of women’s rights advocates to achieve social change? To address this question, we compare the political use (legislation, policy, and judicial interpretation) of these provisions in Chile and Argentina, countries that differ with respect to how they have constitutionalised gender rights. The comparative analysis demonstrates how gender-specific constitutional provisions provide a legal basis and legitimacy for women’s rights advocates to advance new policy, protect policy gains, and pursue rights-based cases through the courts.","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"13 1","pages":"219 - 242"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1866802X211024245","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48871635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-08-01DOI: 10.1177/1866802X211015506
Abby Córdova, Annabella España-Nájera
As decentralisation reforms devolved greater responsibilities to local governments, improving local governance has become central to strengthening democracy. With the promise of increasing citizen representation and government transparency at the local level, in 2015 El Salvador implemented a new electoral system. The new system allowed for the election of opposition parties in municipal councils for the first time. In the context of El Salvador, we examine how opposition parties’ numerical representation influences the views of governing and opposition party members about multi-party councils’ effectiveness to improve local governance. To test our hypotheses, we rely on data from an original elite survey of 303 municipal councillors in 101 municipalities, which we complement with qualitative information. Contrary to what the literature suggests, we do not find evidence that a stronger opposition leads to more negative evaluations among members of governing parties, notwithstanding the country’s polarised party system.
{"title":"Do Multi-Party Municipal Councils Improve Local Governance? Municipal Councillors’ Opinions in El Salvador","authors":"Abby Córdova, Annabella España-Nájera","doi":"10.1177/1866802X211015506","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211015506","url":null,"abstract":"As decentralisation reforms devolved greater responsibilities to local governments, improving local governance has become central to strengthening democracy. With the promise of increasing citizen representation and government transparency at the local level, in 2015 El Salvador implemented a new electoral system. The new system allowed for the election of opposition parties in municipal councils for the first time. In the context of El Salvador, we examine how opposition parties’ numerical representation influences the views of governing and opposition party members about multi-party councils’ effectiveness to improve local governance. To test our hypotheses, we rely on data from an original elite survey of 303 municipal councillors in 101 municipalities, which we complement with qualitative information. Contrary to what the literature suggests, we do not find evidence that a stronger opposition leads to more negative evaluations among members of governing parties, notwithstanding the country’s polarised party system.","PeriodicalId":44885,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Politics in Latin America","volume":"13 1","pages":"192 - 218"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1866802X211015506","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43453314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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