Abstract
While the debate over same-sex marriage has raged in both congresses, same-sex marriage was legalized by the Brazilian Supreme Court and not the Chilean Supreme Court. The chapter opens with an overview of LGBT mobilization in the two countries, demonstrating that this does not help explain policy stasis. We then study institutional variables. Both congresses contain influential conservative voting blocs, which makes passing progressive legislation challenging. Same-sex marriage was ultimately successful in Brazil through the judiciary, an avenue unavailable in Chile. Historical institutionalism demonstrates that a federalist structure was essential for same-sex marriage in Brazil, while the unitary composition of Chile provides fewer policy avenues for LGBT rights. Using Political Opportunity Structure, we then demonstrate how the judicialization of LGBT rights in Brazil led to success for same-sex marriage.
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Valiquette, T., Waring, D. (2018). A Tale of Two Congresses: Sex, Institutions, and Evangelicals in Brazil and Chile. In: Winter, B., Forest, M., Sénac, R. (eds) Global Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage. Global Queer Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62764-9_3
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