Deck 4: The Executive Branch: Latin American Style

Question 1

In a parliamentary system, what consequences follow a "motion of no confidence"?

A)Impeachment proceedings.
B)The government falls.
C)The judiciary assumes legislative responsibilities.
D)The government grants one-half of the cabinet offices to the opposition.

Answer 1

The government falls.

Question 2

In which case would a motion of no confidence be most likely?

A)two-party system and low party discipline
B)two-party system and strong party discipline
C)multiparty system and low party discipline
D)multiparty system and strong party discipline

Answer 2

multiparty system and low party discipline

Question 3

What creates a "minority president"?

A)The president is not a member of the party that controls the legislature.
B)The president is impeached.
C)The president gains less than one-half the vote in a national election.
D)The president lacks constitutional power, and must rely on partisan power.

Answer 3

The president is not a member of the party that controls the legislature.

Question 4

In a parliamentary system, executive-legislative relations are _____, while head of state / head of government roles are _____.

A)fused, fused
B)separate, fused
C)fused, separate
D)separate, separate

Question 5

In a presidential system, executive-legislative relations are _____, while head of state / head of government roles are _____.

A)fused, fused
B)separate, fused
C)fused, separate
D)separate, separate

Question 6

In a presidential system, who plays the role of head of state?

A)the same individual who plays the role of head of government
B)the chief justice of the supreme court
C)the leader of the senate
D)the secretary of state

Question 7

Which of the following best describes the relationship between a prime minister and the cabinet in a parliamentary system?

A)The prime minister is subordinate to the cabinet.
B)The prime minister is a first among equals with the cabinet.
C)The prime minister dominates the cabinet.
D)The prime minister and cabinet are always from different parties.

Question 8

What is the defining aspect of a semi-presidential system?

A)The head of state is elected.
B)The head of state shares policymaking power with the head of government.
C)The head of state presides over the cabinet.
D)The head of state and head of government are the same person.

Question 9

Which country in Latin America uses a semi-presidential system?

A)Mexico
B)Nicaragua
C)Peru
D)Venezuela

Question 10

Which of the following adds most to the power of the president?

A)amendatory observation
B)block veto
C)partial veto
D)executive order

Question 11

What does an urgency petition do?

A)It forces the president to veto a bill.
B)It forces congress to pass a bill.
C)It forces congress to consider a bill.
D)It forces the judiciary to rule on the legality of a bill.

Question 12

What is the best measure of partisan power?

A)the size of the president's party in congress
B)the use of executive decree power
C)the percentage of votes gained in a presidential election
D)the amount of funds a president raises for a political party

Question 13

Which of the following is not a constitutional power?

A)initiative power
B)party discipline
C)amendatory observation
D)referendum

Question 14

Which of the following must precede the grant of emergency decree authority?

A)the declaration of a state of emergency
B)an impeachment proceeding
C)a referendum
D)an emergency session of congress

Question 15

Which of the following distinguishes presidentialism from parliamentarism?

A)a collegial cabinet
B)an insulated bureaucracy
C)a national election for the head of government
D)unfixed terms of office

Question 16

Which if the following presidential powers common to Latin American presidents is also found in the United States presidency?

A)partial veto
B)block veto
C)initiative power
D)amendatory observation

Question 17

In a delegative democracy, power is concentrated in which institution?

A)the judiciary
B)the legislature
C)the executive
D)the monarchy

Question 18

Holding all else equal, which party characteristics best help overcome potential immobilism between an executive and legislature?

A)a two-party system and ideological parties
B)a two-party system and practical parties
C)a multiparty system and ideological parties
D)a multiparty system and practical parties

Question 19

What are the two core features of bureaucracy?

A)efficiency and flexibility
B)flexibility and autonomy
C)efficiency and accountability
D)autonomy and accountability

Question 20

In reference to civil service reform, the politician's dilemma highlights the tension between:

A)national and local interests
B)economic and moral interests
C)agricultural and industrial interests
D)short-term and long-term interests

Question 21

According to the existing research, which of the following is most strongly associated with decreases in petty corruption?

A)federalism
B)a governing party with a large majority
C)merit-based reforms
D)economic development

Question 22

Which of the following best explains the contemporary rise in protests toward corruption in Latin America?

A)the rise of the middle class
B)increased access to information through media
C)judicial independence
D)all of the above

Question 23

When is civil-service reform most likely to occur?

A)during a period of economic growth
B)during a period of economic decline
C)when one party holds a large majority in the legislature
D)when several parties have nearly equal representation in the legislature

Question 24

In Argentina, Juan Manuel de Rosas is associated with which value?

A)order
B)efficiency
C)accountability
D)education

Question 25

Which of the following most significantly reduced support for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner?

A)populist policies
B)the appeal of free-market reforms
C)her abuse of power
D)her inability to contain terrorist threats

Question 26

A parliament must have legal grounds to issue a "motion of no confidence."

Question 27

In the traditional parliamentary system, the prime minister does not appear on a national ballot.

Question 28

In a presidential system, the term of government is fixed; in a parliamentary system, the term of government is flexible.

Question 29

The instability and disorder of the post-independence period led to a greater concentration of power in the president.

Question 30

In a presidential system, partisan power is more stable than constitutional power.

Question 31

A delegative democracy has a president that comes to power through electoral fraud.

Question 32

Constitutional power refers to the legal powers accorded to an executive.

Question 33

An executive order must always take place under the sanction of existing law.

Question 34

Standard decree authority is more powerful than emergency decree authority.

Question 35

The constructive vote of no confidence requires members of parliament to identify an alternative government before removing the standing government.

Question 36

More Latin Americans protest against grand corruption today than in the past because it is a recent phenomenon.

Question 37

The politics of patronage is an inevitable pathology of Max Weber's ideal bureaucracy.

Question 38

Absent a strong and independent judiciary, an anti-corruption campaign is more likely to become politicized.

Question 39

Increasing the number of political appointees in a bureaucracy always enhances the quality of democracy.

Question 40

In Argentina, neoliberal reform contributed to a reduction in executive power.

Question 41

Distinguish petty corruption and grand corruption. How might different types of institutional reforms or changes in society affect each differently? Which is easier to address, petty corruption or grand corruption?

Question 42

How has history tailored the institutional design of executives in Latin America?

Question 43

What institutional features outside of the executive help to increase or decrease executive power?

Question 44

Should a president be granted decree power? What sort of limitations can be used to assure that the power does not grow too great?

Question 45

What are the criticisms of presidentialism? How would you design institutions to minimize the problems surrounding presidentialism?