Bayesian spatial voting model to characterize the legislative behavior of the Colombian Senate 2010-2014

This paper applies Bayesian methodologies to characterize the legislative behavior of the Colombian Senate during the period 2010–2014. The analysis is carried out through the plenary roll call votes of this legislative chamber. In addition, parliamentary electoral behavior is operationalized by implementing the onedimensional standard Bayesian ideal point estimator via the Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms. The results contribute mainly to two points: political space dimensionality and the identification of pivot legislators. The pattern revealed by the estimated ideal points suggests a latent non–ideological trait (opposition non–opposition) underlying the vote of deputies in the Senate. Thus, in addition to providing empirical evidence for a better understanding of legislative policy in Colombia during the period under analysis, this work also offers methodological and theoretical tools to guide the analysis of roll call vote data in contexts of unbalanced parliaments (as opposed to the U.S. parliament), taking the particular case of the Colombian Senate as a reference.

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