Descriptive Representation and Regime Support in Latin America

Abstract

Does descriptive representation matter? We analyze the impact of descriptive representation on regime support among women and the self-identified indigenous population in Latin America. We find that having a female president does not have a consistent impact on regime support among Latin American women, but that the election of an indigenous president has significantly boosted regime support among indigenous people in Bolivia. We suggest that ethnic representation has had a greater impact than gender representation on regime support in the region for a couple of reasons. First, in Latin America, ethnicity is much more highly correlated than gender with other variables that are known to shape political attitudes, such as class, education, region, and area of residence. Second, ethnicity has been a more salient factor in elections and governing than has gender in those countries that have elected indigenous or female presidents.