The article seeks to understand the decisions made by Brazilian senators in processes of nominal voting at the Senate floor. Specifically, it assesses whether state governors influence the votes cast by the senators of their respective states, both in matters of general interest as in those of federative character. For such assessment, the research controlled the effect of other variables supposed important in explaining the senators' votes. One of its outcomes is the verification that state governors were not veto players in matters of national policies. On the contrary, the results found reinforce the arguments lately prevailing in the literature, which asserts that the strength of the political parties and the executive branch is able to promote the decision-making in Congress and the approval of an agenda of national character.
Senate; State governor; Legislature; Political parties; Federalism
