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Full-Text Articles in Comparative Politics
The Political Economy Of Bolivia’S New Regionalism: A Look At Electoral Patterns In Santa Cruz, Tarija, And Chuquisaca, Miguel Centellas, Miguel A. Buitrago
The Political Economy Of Bolivia’S New Regionalism: A Look At Electoral Patterns In Santa Cruz, Tarija, And Chuquisaca, Miguel Centellas, Miguel A. Buitrago
Miguel Centellas
While most conventional accounts assume an economic motivation behind the new regional autonomy movements, such claims have not been systematically tested. In this paper, we test the link between electoral support for Evo Morales and regional autonomy to socioeconomic and demographic indicators at the municipal level. Our cases include the three gas-producing departments of Santa Cruz, Tarija, and Chuquisaca. Our unit of observation is the municipality, for a total of 95 units. We look at eight elections, taking place at five distinct moments, between December 2005 and January 2009. We test whether voting districts with higher levels of socioeconomic indicators …
Electoral Reform, Regional Cleavages, And Party System Stability In Bolivia, Miguel Centellas
Electoral Reform, Regional Cleavages, And Party System Stability In Bolivia, Miguel Centellas
Miguel Centellas
This research note considers the effects of electoral system reform in Bolivia. In 1995, Bolivia moved from a list-proportional to a mixed- member proportional electoral system. The intervening years saw growing regional polarization of politics and a collapse of the existing party system. Using statistical analysis of disaggregated electoral data (at department, municipality, and district level), this paper tests whether electoral system re- forms may have contributed to the current political crisis. Research findings show that regional cleavages existed prior to electoral system reform, but suggest that reforms aggravated their effects. Such evidence gives reason to question the recent popularity …