(The role of governors and legislators in the legislative activity: Entre Ríos and Santa Fe in comparative perspective, 1999/2019)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to compare the legislative activity of political parties with parliamentary representation in two Argentine provinces, Entre Ríos and Santa Fe, during the period 1999-2019. To develop the analysis, it is proposed a classification of the enacted laws, based on two dimensions: the level of aggregation of the proposals and the issue or topic they address. The first dimension is in turn divided into four levels: provincial/general, municipal/departmental, sectoral, individual. The second dimension refers to the issues or topics addressed by the laws. It is divided into two subsets of issues or topics with the purpose of observing the interference of the representatives of the Executive and Legislative Powers in different policy areas. Thus, in the first place, we identify the legislative agenda of governors, linked to the promotion of laws with provincial or general aggregation about certain issues: state companies, tax legislation, budget and finance, state and government, public works, and services. Secondly, to evaluate the role of legislators in the legislative process, a second set of subjects linked to social, educational and health policies is described. This approach allows us to see different dynamics of party interaction between ruling party legislators and opposition legislators. It is concluded that, despite the majority electoral systems that regulate the competition of the parties in the two provinces, the non-official parties have been able to play a significant role in the drafting and sanction of various bills, particularly when the electoral results and the integration of the legislative chambers has shown greater parity and competitiveness among the main parties.