Networks of organized interests in the committees system of House of Representatives

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

In Brazil, the public hearings of the Permanent Commissions of the Chamber of Deputies are relevant arenas to the defense of the demands of pressure groups. There they occur among a varied set of producers, forming a wide network. The article identifies the actors who occupied the centrals in the networks of organized interests Permanent Commissions in the 53rd and 54th legislatures.

Materials and Methods:

The study includes 20 out of 25 Permanent Commissions currently operating. Data from all hearings published by the Permanent Commissions between February 2007 and January 2015 were used, highlighting the names of the participants and the organizations/institutions they represented. Social network analysis was used, with emphasis on actions of centrality of the actors (degree, closeness e betweenness).

Results:

Only the Federal Public Ministry, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor and Employment and the Ministry of Education were included in the three measures of centrality among the ten most important actors. Another finding refers to the observation of policy networks that are formed around certain policies that are the object of the Permanent Commissions’ activity. The presentation of the most central organizations and institutions in each arena of the commission system reveals a very clear convergence between the actors and the thematic scope of the arenas in which they predominantly operate.

Discussion:

These findings impact research on lobbying, as they shed light on the participating groups and how this participation takes place in this type of decision-making arena.

Keywords
public hearings; Legislative Commissions; Chamber of Deputies; organized interests; policy networks