The Study of Representation in Latin America: Towards a Field Consolidation

Representation process in Latin America has been studied for decades. Almost all its components have received attention, and robust empirical evidence has led to a prolific theory building. Current findings offer strong arguments both on demand and supply sides of representation. Nowadays it is possible to understand citizen´s demands trough public opinion survey data, and congruence studies showed how political elites react and build links with the electorate. By the other hand, it is possible to describe party platforms through manifestos and discourse data; moreover, we have a deep comprehension of MPs attitudes through decades of elite survey research. Finally, there have been advances in the understanding of MPs behavior due to increasing research on voting behavior, bill sponsorship, coalition formation, party switching, etc. Nevertheless, these efforts have been accomplished more or less in a considerably isolated way. Each one of these components are part of the bigger puzzle of representation, and the aim of this section is to promote its coordination and union in order to develop a strong research agenda which consolidates this research field. Important questions for political representation will be reachable with conjoint efforts. Among others, it will be possible to understand: How different are party manifestos from MPs attitudes and discourse? Have party manifestos or political discourses changed simultaneously with changes in citizen's attitudes or preferences after periods of crisis? Do MPs social media behavior reflect inter/intra party competition? To what extend the declared ideology of the parties is linked to MPs decisions? The section seeks to include 4 to 6 panel that will put together the components of political representation in Latin America and promoting new research questions within the field. The main themes to be covered will be the comparative study of Latin American Parties from attitudes and manifestos; citizen-elite congruence with actual MPs behavior (roll call votes, bill sponsorship, etc.) discursive analysis of representation supply through quantitative analysis of text data from discourses and social media posts of Latin American representatives; and the new maps of Political Representation in Latin America and the advance of a research agenda.