The Power of Opposition
Legislative Effectiveness in Mexico's Multiparty Democracy
Will be published approx. on 10. December 2026
Book
Hardback
200 pages
978-1-6669-7436-2 (ISBN)
Description
The Power of Opposition: Legislative Effectiveness in Mexico's Multiparty Democracy develops a theory of legislative effectiveness in presidential systems where it is rare for presidents to control a majority of seats in the legislature. Legislators belonging to the president's party are often constrained in their behavior as the executive branch has an overarching interest in ensuring copartisan legislative proposals fit within the president's agenda. Executive bills often require bargains with the opposition to secure votes, and legislators from the president's party may find their bills coopted by the president, or blocked if they conflict with presidential priorities. As a result, legislators from governing parties are generally less effective when it comes to their own initiatives. Presidents allow the opposition to push their own priorities through the legislative process, or provide credit-claiming opportunities on major presidential initiatives. Since opposition legislators can exchange votes on executive bills for presidential support on opposition-led initiatives, they are generally more effective at navigating their own proposals through the legislative process. Yann P. Kerevel and Sergio A. Barcena Juarez demonstrate support for this argument drawing on extensive quantitative data from Mexico's Chamber of Deputies from 1997-2024, and interviews with numerous lawmakers and staffers.
Reviews / Votes
This book is a must-read for scholars of legislative politics in Mexico and beyond. It offers a compelling and rich account of legislative effectiveness, backed by original data and careful empirical analysis. By placing opposition actors at the center of lawmaking, it challenges conventional wisdom and makes an important contribution to the study of representation in multi-party presidential systems. -- Lucia Motolinia, Washington University in St. Louis, USA The Power of Opposition draws on a wide body of qualitative data and empirical analyses to provide a fascinating analysis of the different institutional and personal factors that contribute to legislators successfully advancing their policy agendas in the Mexican national legislature. This book is incredibly valuable for anyone who seeks to understand legislative process and politics in Mexico. It will likewise serve as a template for others to build upon as they seek to explore the causes and consequences of legislative effectiveness in comparative political institutions. -- Alan E. Wiseman, Vanderbilt University, USA Who holds lawmaking power in multiparty legislatures? Kerevel and Barcena Juarez construct a novel measure of legislative effectiveness to uncover surprising patterns of lawmaking success in the Mexican Congress. Their findings challenge conventional assumptions about coalition building, policy choice, and the strength of opposition legislators, while providing a replicable framework for studying effective lawmaking in legislatures around the world. -- Craig Volden, University of Virginia, USA The Power of Opposition makes two indispensable contributions to the study of legislative politics in presidential systems. Kerevel and Barcena Juarez develop a theoretically grounded and empirically compelling argument that opposition legislators-not governing-party members-drive meaningful lawmaking. Equally important, they develop a replicable measure of legislative effectiveness that travels beyond the U.S. context. Essential reading for students of comparative legislatures. -- Leslie Schwindt-Bayer, Rice University, USAMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
30 tables and figures (b/w)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
287 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6669-7436-2 (9781666974362)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Yann P. Kerevel is professor of political science at Louisiana State University. His research examines the effects of political institutions on legislative behavior, and the extent to which the background characteristics of legislators shape how they represent citizens.
Sergio A. Barcena Juarez is full-time researcher at Mexico?s Tecnologico de Monterrey, in the Humanities and Education department. His research mainly focuses on Mexican legislative politics, the institutionalization of legislatures and issues of AI usage in parliaments as well as its effects on political representation.
Sergio A. Barcena Juarez is full-time researcher at Mexico?s Tecnologico de Monterrey, in the Humanities and Education department. His research mainly focuses on Mexican legislative politics, the institutionalization of legislatures and issues of AI usage in parliaments as well as its effects on political representation.
Content
Introduction
Chapter 1: A Theory of Legislative Effective in Multi-Party Presidential Systems
Chapter 2: Measuring Legislative Effectiveness
2.1 Appendix: Creation of the Significance Index
Chapter 3: Executive-Legislative Relations and Lawmaking
Chapter 4: The Role of Parties in Committees
Chapter 5: Legislative Organization and Legislative Effectiveness
Chapter 6: Experience and Legislative Effectiveness
Conclusion: Legislative Effectiveness in Comparative Perspective
Chapter 1: A Theory of Legislative Effective in Multi-Party Presidential Systems
Chapter 2: Measuring Legislative Effectiveness
2.1 Appendix: Creation of the Significance Index
Chapter 3: Executive-Legislative Relations and Lawmaking
Chapter 4: The Role of Parties in Committees
Chapter 5: Legislative Organization and Legislative Effectiveness
Chapter 6: Experience and Legislative Effectiveness
Conclusion: Legislative Effectiveness in Comparative Perspective