Abstract

GONZALEZ, LUCAS I. El poder de los gobernadores: Conceptualización y análisis comparado de Argentina y Brasil. Revista SAAP [online]. 2014, vol.8, n.2, pp.339-373. ISSN 1853-1970.

Governors are relevant political actors in most democratic federations and even in some unitarian states. Despite this, we still have little conceptual understanding and comparative measures of their power. I discuss US and comparative literature on gubernatorial power and adjust a definition so as to compare cases. I examine recent trends in gubernatorial power in Argentina and Brazil and reveal a sharp variation between the two cases over time. Using original data, I also provide fresh empirical evidence on the determinants of gubernatorial power relying on the differentiated use of public-private resources. I claim that the stability of gubernatorial power in Argentina is associated to the trading of public employment for political support, which is relatively enduring over time. In Brazil, this exchange is more unstable and fundamentally based on social investment.

Keywords : Federalism; gubernatorial power - public employment - federal transfers - Argentina and Brazil.

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