From coronelismo to clientelism: electoral practices in Piauí, Brazil

Abstract

Our text is a review of the book "From Colonelism to Clientelism: Electoral Practices in Piauí, Brazil", written by Professor Francisco Farias of the Federal University of Piauí. The book is a revised version of a master’s thesis defended at the State University of Campinas in 1999, and it examines the transformations in electoral practices in the state of Piauí during the last two decades of the 20th century, with a focus on the municipalities of Barras and Esperantina. These transformations in electoral practices, themselves a reflection of changes in the social and economic organization of the Piauí countryside (the gradual replacement of feudal large estates by agricultural enterprises), consist of a transition from the old “coronelismo” system, based on the “cabresto” vote, to the new clientelist practice, based on the “bargain” vote.