Division or Union of Labor? Analyzing Workers' Representation in the Argentine Congress. (22nd October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Micozzi, Juan Pablo
• Is Part Of: Latin American politics and society. Volume 60:Number 4(2018)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 112
• Publication Date: 2018-10-22
• Subjects: labor unions, -- Argentina, -- populism, -- representation, -- bill drafting; Latin America -- Periodicals; Amérique latine -- Périodiques; Sociale ontwikkeling; Politieke ontwikkeling; 980
• DOI: 10.1017/lap.2018.54
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1531-426X

Abstract

Abstract: Does social background affect legislators' behavior in office? Do individuals with specific social ties tend to be mainly concerned with representing their group of reference, beyond partisanship? This article deals with these questions by analyzing bill-drafting patterns by representatives in the Argentine Congress who belong to an understudied group: workers. The wide presence of a broad, populist party (Peronism) that historically incorporated organized labor, along with other groups, provides consistent variation for empirical assessment. Evidence demonstrates that only labor-based representatives in general, regardless of party membership, tend to use legislative resources to target workers, while every other member of the populist party does not consider labor issues at all in their legislative tasks. Such findings open new directions for analysis of representation, legislative performance, and strategies developed by dissimilar groups in broad political organizations.