The article seeks to explain the variation of the relationship between legislators and parties in twelve Brazilian states. This variation is measured with the aid of an index of partisanship, built on a set of questions made to elected representatives of the Legislative Assemblies in 2006. The variation observed is explained in two levels. The first one refers to one dimension of the institutionalization of the various state party systems: the stability of electoral competition. The second one refers to features of the legislators such as period of affiliation, type of party by which he/she was elected, degree of particularism in the exercise of mandate, the degree of progressive thought in relation to controversial, and contemporary issues.
Individualism; Partisanship; State party systems; Legislative assemblies
