This article analyzes the activity of the political parties in the Brazilian House of Representatives during the first Fernando Henrique Cardoso Administration (1995-98). The main source of data is the result of head-count votes. Three aspects are emphasized: the degree of party discipline; the parties’ rate of support for bills sponsored by the Administration; and the impact of maverick voting and absenteeism on the voting results. The link between the two dimensions treated separately by the literature (party discipline and party support for the Administration) shows that the strategy of evaluating Presidential power simply by counting the members of Representatives formally belonging to the Executive’s constituency should be done with caution in countries with undisciplined parties and high absenteeism during head-count votes.
House of Representatives; Executive Branch; head-count vote