Direct democracy in the Americas: Social accountability or political instruments of governments?

This paper discusses the electoral rules used in Chile since 1833, highlighting how difficult it was to change them after first Adopted. It is then analized the current system, emphasizing its strengths and weaknesses. It is argued that the current system can be best understood as an insurance against an electoral defeat since it imposes high thresholds on a party that seeks to transform its electoral majority into a commanding majority of seats in the legislature. It is shown that the Concertacion has found it difficult to transform its electoral majority into a majority control of the legislature. Using electoral simulations, it is shown that the conservative coalition (given its share of votes) gets a larger share of seats with the current system than with any other alternative district magnitude.