Content area
Abstract
Corruption scandals involving the president or other members of the executive branch have long been used as a control or independent variable in studies on Latin American presidentialism. This research seeks to contribute to the literature by treating executive scandals as the dependent variable, using the Workers’ Party governments in Brazil (2003-2016) as a case study. First, a number of independent interval variables that potentially affect the dependent variable are tested using regression analysis, and then, independent categorical variables are identified and causal mechanisms connecting the independent interval and categorical variables to executive scandal emergence are uncovered, making use of Y-centered theory-building process tracing and data from interviews with media professionals and an ex-Supreme Court judge. Four different potential causal mechanisms connecting a total of up to five different independent variables to executive scandal emergence are identified, providing a point of departure for future research on the topic. This study contributes to the Latin American presidentialism literature by providing insight into the causes of executive corruption scandals, a previously overlooked topic.