Understanding Electoral Systems: Proportional vs. Majority

• Electoral Systems

  Electoral systems exist in democratic regimes and are found in two forms: proportional and majority.

• Proportional: Characterized by the amount of power that is assumed in the governing bodies, which is proportional to the number of votes obtained in the elections.

Majority: Characterized by the desire to obtain the most votes, which grants all the power. When a party receives 50 + 1 votes, it secures 100% of the representation in Congress.

The proportional system is a fair system from the standpoint of political representation, but it is often seen as unfair compared to the majority system.

From the perspective of political representation, the proportional system helps create conditions that can lead to political instability due to the incentive for the existence of many political parties, resulting in political fragmentation (many small parties) competing for power. This situation contributes to the polarization of the political system, as these small parties strive to differentiate themselves. Thus, the proportional political system exerts a centrifugal force (outward) that leads to political polarization and conflict.

The majority system, while unfair from the perspective of power representation, creates a political status that tends to pull the political system toward the center. This exerts a centripetal force (force of attraction) on political parties, which consequently end up forming alliances and establishing agreements; otherwise, they have less chance of electoral success. This dynamic results in the political system operating on the basis of two large communities, which may consist of two parties or two alliances.

Party System

• Two-party: Two dominant parties (e.g., U.S., Chile) are related to the majoritarian electoral system. There may be more parties, but they remain on the periphery and have no choice but to join. For example, the Communist Party in Chile is associated with the consultation.
• Multiparty: Many parties (e.g., Peru, Argentina, Brazil). This system relates to proportional representation, as it promotes the existence of many political parties.
• One-party: A single party (e.g., Cuba).

Parliament

• Unicameral: Countries like Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica have only one chamber of deputies.
• Bicameral: This system is divided into 1) Upper House (Senate), where territorial representation is only given in the Federal State, and the states of a federation are represented in the Senate. 2) Lower House (MPs), which represents the citizens. The model comes from the English bicameral system (Upper House for the nobility, Lower House for the common people). The upper house is reserved for the nobility, with titles assigned to territories. In Chile, there are grounds for a bicameral parliament, which allows for a decentralization of power.