What makes a legislator promote or thwart trade liberalization in developing democracies?

This paper investigates how ideological polarization and constituency factors influence legislators' voting behaviour on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). We explore the Chilean case, where trade policy has recently become highly politicized, to test three key relationships. First, right-wing legislators are more likely to champion FTAs when trade becomes a highly politicized issue. Conversely, when trade is less politically
salient, right-wing legislators are less likely to vote favourably for FTAs. Second, legislators representing regions with a high concentration of workers in tradable sectors are less likely to support trade liberalization, as it can put jobs at risk in their districts.

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