Abstract

The present article deals with public financing, a key element for compliance by political parties with their social and political functions and which additionally promotes the existence of multi-party systems in which minor parties are recognized as fundamental to democracy in order to assure that all voices are heard and represented. The objective is to identify through quantitative methodologies the differing perspectives between major and minor parties concerning the rules that regulate the distribution of public resources with a view towards determining whether legal circumstances assure their effective allocation or whether public financing instead constitutes a limitation on the development of minor parties.