Political Representation and Legislative Polarization in Brazil

Legislative behavior is informed by partisanship as leaders play an important role in the decision-making process. Yet party discipline accounts for only one part of the story. Constituency preferences and responsiveness should be addressed as well. After all, legislators seeking to maximize their votes need to respond to their electoral support bases. Hence, I ask: how are voters' preferences taken into account by legislators? To answer this question and contribute to the debate on the electoral connection in Brazilian politics, this project analyzes whether and how the attention of the parliamentary action to its electoral effects is being affected by the current polarization process.