Veto Bargaining and the Legislative Process in Multiparty Presidential Systems

Valeria Palanza, Gisela Sin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article analyzes the use of vetoes in multiparty presidential systems. It suggests that the nature of executive-legislative bargaining is fundamentally altered when multiple parties compose the legislature and when presidential veto prerogatives are extended to incorporate partial (line-item) vetoes. Using a data set that includes all bills passed by the Argentine Congress in the past 25 years, we estimate veto occurrence under different scenarios. Our findings are at odds with received expectations: whether the President holds a majority in Congress or not fails to explain variations in the likelihood of vetoes. Instead, the level of significance of legislation is relevant for predicting vetoes, with landmark legislation being more likely to be vetoed regardless of levels of support for the president in Congress. In addition, partial vetoes become the preferred alternative when confronting legislation initiated by the president herself.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)766-792
Number of pages27
JournalComparative Political Studies
Volume47
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2014

Keywords

  • Argentina
  • Congress
  • Latin America
  • presidential veto
  • separation of powers systems

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Veto Bargaining and the Legislative Process in Multiparty Presidential Systems'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this