Intereses subestatales en legislativos bicamerales: sobre la cooperación interinstitucional en entornos descentralizados

Abstract

The aim of this article is to study the role of the second chamber in the vertical coordination of interests between national and subnational levels. Firstly, we specify the legislative governance variables which must be analyzed in bicameral countries in order to measure incentives and restrictions to strengthen vertical inter-institutional coordination, deepening political decentralization. Secondly, these variables –symmetry, congruence and political particularism– are broken down and ranked to be tested empirically in the nine bicameral countries existing in Latin America. Finally, with the results obtained, we are in a position to develop a bicameralism index that measures the role of second chambers as the institutional space where subnational interests are taken into the national Legislative body, encouraging vertical relations among institutions.