Chief Whip

[JPablo]

Wikipedia has this,
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.

How would you translate "Chief Whip" into Spanish?

[Glen]

Well JP, the part about getting members to attend makes me think of herding sheep or cattle (regarding politicians, maybe it's closer to herding cats) so maybe something like caporal en jefe. As to getting members to vote a certain way, I'm not sure how that duty would translate.

[JPablo]

Thank you, Glen. I thought about something similar, such as a Master-At-Arms, but I'd think that "caporal en jefe" would apply in the military sphere, rather than politics...

[Glen]

How about dirigente legislativo or capataz legislativo...

[JPablo]

Hey, "dirigente legislativo" I think will work better... I am not sure if this is close to "Presidente de la Cámara" or some such. It may not have an exact equivalent in Spanish, but probably a literal translation with the original English may work in my context...

[pjt33]

Leave untranslated and gloss as "El responsable de la disciplina interna del partido"?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

En México se llama "jefe de bancada".
La bancada se compone de los miembros de una cámara (diputados o senadores) que pertenecen al mismo partido político.

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

En México se llama "jefe de bancada".
La bancada se compone de los miembros de una cámara (diputados o senadores) que pertenecen al mismo partido político.

If "jefe de bancada" = "(party) whip" for a faction with a legislative assembly, what do you call the "(party) leader" for that faction within the same legislative assembly? (In US politics, these roles are generally filled by different people. For example, in the current US congress, the house "majority leader". For example, in the US House of Representatives, John Boehner is Speaker, Majority Leader is Eric Cantor, Majority Whip is Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader is Nanci Pelosi, and Minority Whip is Steny Hoyer.)

[JPablo]

Originally Posted by pjt33

Leave untranslated and gloss as "El responsable de la disciplina interna del partido"?

I like this option. Tku, Pjt33!

@AdA, thanks, albeit it will not work for my context and public, it's good to know when addressing Mexican audiences!

@W. Thanks for the education... (I'm a bit out of the whip... I mean, the loop, on these subjects!)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Pablo: "Bancada" es el nombre informal (me acabo de enterar). Oficialmente se llaman Grupos Parlamentarios y cada jefe tiene el título de "Coordinador de Grupo Parlamentario". Creo que eso es un poco más genérico, aunque no apuesto a que sirva para otros países de cualquier manera.


@wrholt: I don't think we have these equivalences in Mexican Congress.
I hope this will answer your question, but if I misunderstood, let me know.

US Congress = Congreso General / Congreso de la Unión

House of Representatives = Cámara de Diputados (the media also call it Cámara Baja)

Senate = Cámara de Senadores / Senado (the media also call it Cámara Alta)

Each "cámara" has a "Presidente" (I think these are the Speakers). In the Senate, the "Presidente" governs with a "Mesa directiva", where members are elected by the whole "cámara". In the House of Representatives, the "Presidente" governs with a "Junta de Coordinación Política", where each member is the "coordinador" of each "grupo parlamentario".

Since we have many more than two political parties (this time they're 7, but we've had 9 and the number changes with every election), we don't have a majority and minority relationship. Our "grupos parlamentarios" or "bancadas" correspond to the congresspeople belonging to each political party. Each one of these groups have a "Coordinador" who leads them and tells them what to vote, how and when; that is why I think that these "coordinadores" are equivalent to the "chief whips".

[wrholt]

AdA, thanks for the explanation. It looks like there is a wide range of usage for the word "whip" in the context of politics between different English-speaking regions. It looks like pjt33's advice to use a gloss to clarify the intended meaning is the best approach, the same name implies different tasks in different contexts.

[JPablo]

@AdA. Thank you for the explanation.

@wrolt. Yup, I tend to agree. Thanks!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree, although "disciplina interna del partido" does not suggest that it is inside the parliament, unless also explained.

[JPablo]

Good point...

"Disciplina interna del partido para asuntos parlamentarios..." (y para de contar...)

(Como el "explicao" de Les Luthiers... "las rueditas, pequeñas, metálicas, dentadas que ajustan a las botas del jinete, que se clavan en las carnes del caballo al galopaaar...") (Pero eso es otro tema...)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Precisamente.