Braz. political sci. rev.2026;20(1):e0001.
Informal Coalitions in Action: Party Legislative Performance in Brazilian Presidentialism
Pedro Paulo de Assis
, Glauco Peres da Silva
DOI: 10.1590/1981-3821202600010001
Abstract
The legislative success of presidential agendas in Brazil has traditionally been attributed to formal coalitions formed by the Executive. While the centrality of these coalitions is widely recognized, a key question remains: do formal governing coalitions secure sufficient votes to guarantee this success? To explore this question, the study develops a Legislative Performance Index (LPI) that measures the contribution of each party’s votes to the approval of Executive-backed bills. Drawing on data from 2,030 roll-call votes in the Chamber of Deputies spanning 1995 to 2016, the analysis reveals that presidents have consistently achieved high legislative success rates – with a 92% approval rate of their legislative agenda. However, votes from formal coalitions alone would have yielded substantially lower approval rates, at just 66%. In practice, majority governance in Brazilian presidentialism has relied heavily on support from parties outside formal coalitions, with informal coalitions playing a crucial role at various times. These findings underscore the importance of analyzing party behavior beyond formal alliances and recognizing the interplay of formal and informal coalitions in shaping legislative outcomes.
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