View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Carolina Digital Repository PROGRAMMATIC AND NON-PROGRAMMATIC PARTY-VOTER LINKAGES IN TWO INSTITUTIONALIZED PARTY SYSTEMS: CHILE AND URUGUAY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Juan Pablo Luna Fariña A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science Chapel Hill 2006 Approved by Advisor: Evelyne Huber Reader: Jonathan Hartlyn Reader: Lars Schoultz Reader: George Rabinowitz Reader: Herbert Kitschelt © 2006 Juan Pablo Luna Fariña ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT JUAN PABLO LUNA FARIÑA: Programmatic and Non-Programmatic Voter Linkages in Two Institutionalized Party Systems: Chile and Uruguay in Comparative Perspective (Under the direction of Evelyne Huber) Failures in political representation are a key hindrance to the quality of democracy in Latin America, and the degree to which parties link to voters on a programmatic basis is crucial for the quality of representation. This dissertation analyzes the nature of party-voter linkages in two highly institutionalized party-systems of the region: Chile and Uruguay. Both cases should produce high- quality representation given certain important preconditions: partisan capacities, democratic contestation opportunities, and potential for grievance mobilization. However, this work shows that even in these best case scenarios the possibilities for structuring programmatic representation in contemporary Latin America are low. I explain differences in political representation through a framework of conjunctural causation that incorporates the long-term evolution of social and state structures into the analysis of party-systems and party-voter linkage configurations. Performing a multi-level comparison combining survey research and extensive fieldwork in paired-sample districts representing divergent causal configurations, I explain predominant linkage configurations in each country and district. My evidence shows that: a) while in the 1990s programmatic linkages have weakened in Chile, they have strengthened in Uruguay; b) significant levels of socioeconomic segmentation of programmatic linkages exist in Chile with upper classes linking to parties according to their iii programmatic preferences, while low-educated voters present extreme programmatic confusion and a combination of alienation from politics and instances of strongly localized, non-partisan (personalized), and non-programmatic linkages with candidates (financed by private-sector contributions, illegal municipal contracting, or focalized social policy); c) in Uruguay, economic crises have weakened traditional parties’ clientelistic machines, reinforcing discontent with both parties and generating the opportunity for the leftwing Frente Amplio to grow by programmatically opposing neoliberal reforms; d) nonetheless, in a relatively favorable systemic context, a weaker pattern of segmented linkage strategies also emerged in Uruguay. Institutional and elite-centered analyses have predominated in the literature on political representation. The main theoretical contribution of this work is to bring society and informal institutions ‘back in’ to the analysis. This provides a more comprehensive understanding of the complex combination of variables that interact --usually over a long period of time--to cause different patterns of “representation” in a given society. iv To Karina for her endless patience, understanding, and support. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In researching and writing this dissertation, I have accumulated many personal and institutional debts. Before arriving at UNC-CH, Fernando Filgueira provided excellent advice and encouragement. During these years, I continued to have the privilege of his friendship and brilliant scholarly advice. I also enjoyed the friendship of his father Carlos, who’s recent and premature death left, beyond personal lost, a vast vacuum in Uruguayan social science. As one among many who have benefit from Carlos’ immense generosity, collegiality, and personal commitment in seeking to improve our society, I seek to live up to the high bar set by him. Diego Hernández has also been a source of friendship since our years at the UCU. In Chapel Hill, my research benefited extensively from the guidance and example of my advisor Evelyne Huber, who systematically offered excellent advice and support even before I arrived in town. In spite of his crowed schedule as Chair of the Department of Political Science, Jonathan Hartlyn always found the time to meet and discuss my research with him, also providing extremely helpful advice and ideas. Especially when enthusiasm was lacking, Lars Schoultz was always ready to “meet for coffee at the Daily Grind”, and was a continuous source of charm, friendship, and savvy professional and personal counseling. None of “our Karinas” know how much was said about them by the small tables under the sun (or around the bookshelves, when winter hit). Since my first days at Chapel Hill Phyllis Howren has been an invaluable source of friendship and care. Staying with her during the fall of 2004 made my lonely dissertation writing and job seeking days at UNC extremely less painful and much more enjoyable. vi Since my arrival in 1999, Ngetta Kabiri contributed significantly in creating a home away from home. Particularly during the first semester of each academic year his friendship helped me endure the semesters. I will always remember our cabbage -perfumed talks, very late at night, in-between reading assignments and papers to be written by the next morning. Oscar Chamosa, Maria Marta Sobico, Claudio Fuentes, Leticia Ruíz-Rodríguez, José Miguel Sandoval, Indira Palacios, and Merike Blofield also turned into “best friends”. Such friendship has stood the tests of time and distance and constitutes an unanticipated gift that I take from Chapel Hill. Leticia, Claudio, and Merike, as well as Ian Down, Christina Ewig, and Gaby Ondetti also guided me to the intricacies of my first year of graduate student life in the Department and provided much needed advice. After coming back from fieldwork in 2003, most of my old friends were no longer at UNC. However, I was fortunate to meet Jennifer Pribble, Agustina Giraudy, Marco Cerletti, Mireya Davila, Ryan Carlin, and Billy Acree, whose friendship and companion I now cherish. Having inflicted on Ryan, Jenny, and Billy the pain of editing my English in an endless series of drafts (including this “monster”), I am also deeply indebted to them. Laura Doerfer and her children (Zachary, Leila, Sofía, and Ian) frequently helped to put things in perspective and offered their love to Karina and me. Dan and Nancy Leigh also provided fresh air to our Chapel Hill lives. All of them made our life in North Carolina substantially more enjoyable, for which I could never thank them enough. The research was made possible by several rounds of funding provided by the pre- dissertation grants (2000, 2001, and 2002) awarded by the Institute of Latin American Studies at UNC and funded by the Ford Foundation, the Tinker Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation. A CLACSO fellowship for young Latin American scholars awarded in 2001 was also helpful in surveying the literature, analyzing preliminary evidence, and refocusing the project. The full research project could have not been pursued without the financia l support provided by the 2002 University Center for International Studies REACH Fellowship. Therefore, I am especially indebted to UCIS (UNC-CH) and Prof. Steiner for trusting in this project as the basis for one of their two inaugural fellowships. The Fellowship also provided the opportunity to develop a course on the basis vii of my research and to teach it at UNC during 2004. The data used in this project originates in the survey implemented by the Universidad de Salamanca and from the World Value Survey. Additionally, I draw on data generously provided by Nestor da Costa and Equipos-Mori in Uruguay. Without having access to this data, the project, in its current form, would have been impossible. During my stay at UNC and through a series of meetings across the USA, my participation in the research group headed by Herbert Kitschelt on Latin American party-systems was fascinating and illuminating. The insights I gained attending the seminar on political parties taught by Kitschelt at Duke in 2001 were also crucial in defining and improving this project. Additionally, research collaboration with Elizabeth Zechmeister was both enriching and enjoyable. At UNC I met Manuel Alc ántara, with whom I also engaged in collaborative research that benefited this project. Since then, Manolo has provided encouragement and support, both during my visits to Salamanca and via e- mail. While pursuing fieldwork in Chile I was associated with the Universidad Andrés Bello and the Universidad de Chile. I am especially thankful to Juan Esteban Montes and Alfredo Joignant for supporting my research and for providing advice during my stay at those institutions. David Altman, Rossana Castiglioni, Tomás Moulián, Norbert Lechner, Rodrigo Márquez, Jorge Rodríguez, Cristián Beltrán; Carolina Stefoni, and Rodrigo Araya provided helpful advice and much needed networking in Santiago. During my fieldwork in Uruguay, I also benefit extensively from the help of Diego Hernández, Fernando Filgueira, Agustín Canzani, Ignacio Zuasnábar, César Aguiar, Cecilia Rossell, Rosario