Looks Like Me, Thinks Like Me? Descriptive Representation and Opinion Congruence in Brazil∗

Opinion congruence, or alignment in legislators’ and citizens’ policy preferences, facilitates democratic representation. Congruence may obtain because shared views lead elites and masses to self-select into an identity category; because identity creates shared interests; or because networks and organizations socialize both into a common worldview. Though political parties are traditionally considered the most important agent of mass and elite socialization, in new democracies clientelistic and catch-all parties foster limited congruence. Religious organizations and networks constitute an alternative socializing force. Analyzing Brazil, we draw on three legislative and fifteen mass surveys to analyze congruence across seven issue areas. Legislators and voters from underrepresented groups—women, Afro-Brazilians, evangelical Christians, and those of lower social class—are generally closer in their opinions than those sharing a party or electoral district. Evangelicals are often the most congruent. Analyzing original surveys of congregations and clergy, we argue this results from the socializing role of churches. ∗For comments on previous versions, we are grateful to Scott Mainwaring, Jami Nelson-Nuñez, Dave Peterson, David Samuels, Robert Urbatsch, Cesar Zucco, and seminar participants at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame. Thanks to Timothy Power and Cesar Zucco for pre-release data from Wave 7 of the Brazilian Legislative Surveys.