Beliefs or ideology: the imperative of social inclusion in Brazilian politics

Abstract

This paper underscores how a dominant belief in social inclusion not only has shaped Brazil's post-1988 institutions, but has also dominated policy preferences of Brazilian politicians regardless of their ideological orientation. Based on a unique survey with Brazilian legislators, we have been able to understand how elite preferences are connected to this belief of social inclusion. We also address how the belief of social inclusion itself changed over time, from what can be called as irresponsible inclusion to a more fiscally sound social inclusion. By combining the elite's survey with roll call voting records, we compare the degree of consistency between what lawmakers say and how they behave. The results demonstrate that although social inclusion is the spoken imperative, the division between government and opposition distinguishes itself as the main cleavage in Brazilian politics. The Brazilian case is noteworthy, since its economically unequal and politically hyper-fragmented context can serve as an example of a strong executive, generally aligned to society beliefs, seizing the opportunity to coordinate Congress towards delivering redistributive policies.