CLIENTELISM AND METAMORPHOSES OF POLITICAL MEDIATION IN BRAZILIAN MUNICIPALITIES

Abstract

Clientelism is a political practice that manifests itself during the electoral period and perpetuates itself throughout the term of the individual elected to public office, carried out as a means of preserving power in almost all regions of Brazil. What varies are the appearances of how it is configured in the national political context. Thus, clientelism refers to the use of public resources by those in power, in exchange for the political loyalty of their voters. Currently, Brazil has 5,570 municipalities, according to information from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Clientelism manifests itself in various ways in specific localities such as small, medium or large. The classification as small, medium or large is based on IBGE guidelines, which define small municipalities as those with a population of up to 100,000 inhabitants, medium municipalities as those with more than 100,001 and up to 500,000 inhabitants, and large municipalities as those with more than 500,001 inhabitants. Clientelism manifests itself in all municipalities across the country in various ways, adapting to regional policies. This modality of public resource allocation transcends local political geography, reaching the federal government. This article will analyze how these transformations manifest themselves at the local level, as well as the repercussions of this governance model in these areas.