Collective and shared mandates in Brazil: a descriptive analysis of democratic innovations in the legislative powe

Abstract

This article explores a new form of participation in political representation in the Brazilian legislative power via collective and shared mandates. To achieve this objective, the research adopted a multi-case study with in - depth interviews with representatives from the mandates of Gabriel Azevedo, João Yuji, Ricardo Antonello, Gabinetona, and Junta s. Our empirical study used ten dimensions of analyzes: (1) initiative, (2) size, (3) eligibility, (4) access, (5) permanence, (6) distribution of power, (7) extent of power, (8) costs and benefits, (9) decision-making process and (10) interaction mechanism. The five analyzed cases lead us to the conclusion that there is lots of experimentalism, trial and error and room for innovation, and there is still no consolidated model of shared mandate mature enough to be replicated in other democracies.