Relaciones sociedad-estado, participación ciudadana y clientelismo político en programas contra la pobreza. El caso de «bolsa familia» en Brasil

Abstract

Relations between poor people and the government that creates the Programa Bolsa Familia at Brazil may be summarized in two dimensions: 1) favor direct relationships without the intervention of collective action and 2) are distant relations in terms of type of interaction and communication between the authorities and beneficiaries. While there are instances of formal social control, operation of the program makes minimal intermediation and highly institutional and civic organizations have little room to act and to represent the beneficiaries of Bolsa Familia in institutionalized interfaces. Direct links generate positive effect low levels of political patronage vote buying and coercion, but also generate unintended effects such as the lack of program operation, difficulty to defend themselves collectively by irregularities and create an active citizenry.