Suchergebnisse

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero llegó al gobierno español en medio de una gran expectativa y con la aparente obligación de cumplir con compromisos de campaña que implicaban dar a la política un importante giro. El sello que imprimió a su primera legislatura produjo cambios profundos ya que en ella se abrieron a debate público temas que, por su carácter conflictivo, no habían sido previamente objeto de una discusión a fondo, como es el caso de los estragos de la Guerra Civil. En este artículo se hace un recorrido por la historia contemporánea española con el objeto de contextualizar el alcance y los límites de las reformas emprendidas por este presidente; a su vez, contribuye al debate sobre la democracia en España a partir de un recuento retrospectivo de los rasgos del modelo que aluden a la memoria histórica para explicar el intento del presidente Zapatero de saldar cuentas con el pasado y de emprender, bajo el concepto de socialismo cívico, una nueva vía de gobierno fundada en la ampliación de los derechos y el fortalecimiento del Estado de bienestar.

Chronicles institutional reforms in the legislature and related constitutional reforms and discusses the risks associated with such reforms, 1979-86; Italy.

Analyzes role and influence of legislative committees in public policy; international perspective. Translated from English.

Legislatures are critical institutions for the effective functioning of a democratic system and in the policymaking process. They are expected to represent the needs and wishes of citizens, identify problems and adopt statutes to address them, and oversee the implementation of policies. However, the extents to which Latin American legislatures fulfill these roles vary greatly from country to country. Despite the recent proliferation of research on executive-legislative relations in Latin-America, comparative knowledge of how legislative institutions operate in these countries is still quite limited. In an effort to improve understanding in this area, I evaluate the extent and nature of the policymaking role played by 18 Latin American legislatures. Specifically, I use multidimensional scaling (MOS) techniques to test if and how the dimensions by which these legislatures have been previously distinguished correspond to observed similarities among them. The analysis reveals that four types of legislatures can be identified. The findings also confirm that those legislatures with greater capabilities are the ones that play more active roles in the policy making process. Adapted from the source document.

As a contribution to the debate of the impact of minority governments on legislative production and Executive-Legislative relations, this paper analyses the case of the last five Mexican legislatures (1997-2012) in which the president's party has been unable to form a majority in Congress. Drawing on the literature and case studies of divided governments in the United States and Latin America, it analyses the effect of formal institutions (presidential and congressional powers), the party system, and the actual distribution of power on the lawmaking process and its outcomes. Using data from 1997-2012 the paper provides evidence to support the thesis that paralysis and the systematic obstruction of the presidential agenda are not inevitable results of minority governments. Nonetheless, it explains and accounts for the profound changes in the legislative process that have come about as a consequence of the expansion of plurality in Congress. The paper concludes proposing new ways of measuring and analysing relevant bills as well as exploring alternative explanations for the failure in passage of the so called structural reforms. Adapted from the source document.

Examines background, diagnosis, and party consequences of the difference between the percentage of voters of an election district and the percentage of seats assigned to it (malapportionment); Brazil. Summary in English p. 8. Effects on the equilibrium of power between the states.

The nature of the new relationship between the executive & legislative branches of the Mexican government following the July 2000 election of President Vicente Fox & the concomitant absence of an absolute majority party in Congress are explored. Formal & informal means by which the president can intervene in the legislative processes & the legislature can participate in governing are listed. The 58th Legislature is made up of diverse parties, making it difficult for any one party to obtain sufficient representation. This situation obligates the executive branch to establish agreements & maintain cohesion in order to pursue projects. Weak organizational structures & incomplete structural platforms present further obstacles. The impact of the institutional weakness of the Mexican party system on achieving democratic consolidation is discussed. 7 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

Issues related to the 1994 presidential election, including platforms and programs of the major political parties, political participation, communication in the campaign, the candidates, the role of the legislature, and other issues; Mexico; 9 articles. Summaries in English.

This paper discusses the electoral rules used in Chile since 1833, highlighting how difficult it was to change them after first adopted. It is then analyzed the current system, emphasizing its strengths & weaknesses. It is argued that the current system can be best understood as an insurance against an electoral defeat since it imposes high thresholds on a party that seeks to transform its electoral majority into a commanding majority of seats in the legislature. It is shown that the Concertacion has found it difficult to transform its electoral majority into a majority control of the legislature. Using electoral simulations, it is shown that the conservative coalition (given its share of votes) gets a larger share of seats with the current system than with any other alternative district magnitude. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.

The author asserts that there has been a profound shift in power away from legislatures & toward courts & other legal institutions. This shift, which has been called judicialization, has become more or less global in its reach. The article carefully examines this constant ebb & flow, this constant shift in the role played by courts & judges in judicializing politics (the greater participation of judges & courts in political matters) & by the various political actors in politicizing the law (the growing participation of politicians in judicial matters). The author distinguishes at least three ways in which courts have taken on new & important roles relative to legislatures. Therefore we find ourselves with the transformation of political questions into legal ones. And this means that legal/constitutional considerations & rhetoric assume new & sometimes decisive importance in ordinary legislative policy making. Adapted from the source document.

Almost two hundred years after the term gerrymandering was first used in Massachusetts, redistricting remains a complex and politicized process that affects the way the legislative branches are conformed and the quality of political representation around the world. In this paper, we describe the redistricting process in California and ask how it would work if it were to be implemented by an independent agent (instead of the local legislature or a bipartisan commission). Using a simulated annealing redistricting algorithm we create a hypothetical scenario that reduces significantly partisan bias in the state. Developed by the Mexican Federal Electoral Institute in 2005, this optimization model allowed us to recreate California's 53 Congressional districts and to analyze their racial and electoral composition. We found systematic evidence that the majority party in local legislature ends up with electoral benefits every time districts are drawn. Adapted from the source document.

Prospects for formation of a consensus between the crown and the political opposition following the Aug. 1996 announcement by King Hassan of a timetable for political and administrative reform; Morocco. Summary in English p. 207. Reforms involving a bicameral legislature and decentralization of authority to the regions.