al legislators or party factions"(p. 418). Presidential systems are known for not being very disciplined. A lack of discipline allows legislator to make decisions based on their gut beliefs and in the interests of the people they represent, not a party. On the other hand, a completely undisciplined congress makes forming stable relationships between groups within government difficult which can ultimately force the president to use unorthodox means of gaining support. Therefore, the ideal level of discipline is somewhere in-between these two extremes. Mainwaring and Shugart propose three elements sum up the level of party discipline within a country. First, does the party control the selection of candidates, open list? Second, does the party control the order of the candidates in elections, closed list? Third, does the party pool votes among candidates or lists within districts? Table 11.5 in Chapter 11 maps out countries in relation to these elements. Brazil is the least disciplined of the three countries. Brazil uses a "birthright candidate" open list system. The purpose of the "birthright candidate" rule is to give politicians more freedom of choice. The rule states deputies cannot be denied future nomination by the party despite their level of submission to party lines. Mainwaring and Shugart's table 11.3 shows parties in Brazil do not have control over the selection of candidates or the order of candidates. Parties do pool votes among lists. As a result, politicians have a great degree of autonomy and an incentive to cater to the people, not the party. This may be an advantage to the party because the party can benefit from a highly popular candidate when votes are pooled. On the other hand, party labels may become blurred as candidates progress through their political career and waver from their initial ideology.Fractionalization is another repercussion of this policy, which can make things difficult for the...
