ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses a highly controversial but virtually undocumented puzzle in the study of the Ecuadorian legislature: are presidents able to solve collective action dilemmas and command the support of party leaders to form legislative coalitions (Cox and McCubbins 1993; Figueiredo and Limongi 2000), or do presidents prefer to make piecemeal agreements and promote vote-buying with myriad rent-seeking legislators (Mainwaring 1999; Ames 2001)? To answer this question, I build on the theoretical model offered in Chapter 2, which explains policymaking as a nested bargaining between three ideal players: an agenda-setting president, a party leader who represents the median legislator, and an individual legislator whose vote is pivotal to make or break a legislative majority.
