Institutional Context and Satisfaction with Democracy: Shaping the Winner-Loser Gap among Latin American Legislators

Abstract

This article analyzes satisfaction with democracy among legislators in Latin America by centering on the impact of institutional settings. Our dataset contains 2,448 interviews from 17 countries between 2009 and 2022. The results of our multilevel logistic regression analysis underscore the significance of institutions, highlighting that perceptions of opportunities for participation in the legislative agenda-setting process increase legislators' satisfaction with the way democracy works. Nonetheless, institutional variables shape the satisfaction of winners (legislators close to governing parties) and losers (opposition) in different ways. Presidential legislative powers stand out as a key factor that reduces satisfaction for losers. Conversely, legislative fragmentation decreases winners' satisfaction with democracy.