Social dialogue in Central America

Abstract

The proposed paper will analyze the democratic political systems of Central American countries. After an initial theoretical reflection about the concepts of representation and representativeness in Central America, the paper will discuss the "perliementenretion" (or parliamentary tendencies) of the presidential systems of this subcontinent leading to an increasing compatibility between executive and legislative powers. The next section will make a more in depth comparative analysis of Central American perliements, focusing on the institutional position of the legislative assemblies and will refer to variables as political control mechanisms, agenda setting powers, minority rights and the effectiveness of the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary opposition. Finally the paper will present a comprehensive mapping of the veto players in the political systems in these Central American countries.

Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No. 118, 2008: 563-586