Minority governments in latin-american presidentialism: institutional and political determinants

The view that minority governments are anomalies in the Parliamentary system has been abandoned for some time. However, in Presidential systems, minority governments are still seen as problematic, especiallywhen combined with unilateral Presidential agenda-setting powers. This article analyzes the f...

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Published inDados (Rio de Janeiro) Vol. 55; no. 4; p. 839
Main Authors Figueiredo, Argelina Cheibub, Canello, Júlio, Vieira, Marcelo
Format Journal Article
LanguagePortuguese
Published Rio de Janeiro Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, IESP 01.10.2012
Subjects
Coalition governments
Parliaments
Political behavior
Political science
Presidents
Latin America
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Summary:The view that minority governments are anomalies in the Parliamentary system has been abandoned for some time. However, in Presidential systems, minority governments are still seen as problematic, especiallywhen combined with unilateral Presidential agenda-setting powers. This article analyzes the formation of governments (or cabinets), defined by their party composition and not by Presidential mandates, in 14 Latin American countries from 1979 to 2011. We test various hypotheses on the impact of institutional and political factors on the formation of minority governments. Our findings contradict predictions based on the prevailing theories. Specifically, we observed that the probability of minority governments increases proportionally with the strength of the President's veto power. We also observed that the President's agenda-setting power and party fragmentation both have a negative effect on the formation of minority governments. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0011-5258
1678-4588
DOI:10.1590/S0011-52582012000400001