Discipline, Accountability, and Legislative Voting in Latin America

Accountability in legislative representation implies that candidates communicate to voters what they will do if elected, that information about actions once in office is available to constituents, that representatives are responsive to the preferences and demands of constituents, and that they are punished for lack of responsiveness. There is an inherent tension between party discipline and responsiveness by individual legislators to their constituents. A number of recent institutional reforms in Latin America have sought to increase individual responsiveness and accountability of legislators, even at the expense of party discipline. The most important of these are reforms that put in place mixed electoral systems combining single-member districts with proportional representation, and the adoption of public voting in legislatures. This paper draws on interviews with legislators and staff in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Venezuela, as well as surveys of legislators in ...