Clientelism and Corruption in Contemporary Brazil

Abstract

Probably the most significant aspect of the cases of corruption in Brazil, which began in 1992 with the impeachment and removal of the political rights of the President of the Republic, Fernando Collor de Mello, and then led on to accusations and subsequent removal of rights from members of Senate and Congress, is not the proof of the existence of corruption as a fact. The most important aspect of these affairs is that these events were defined as corruption, and accepted as such by public opinion. In my view, this is the historical event which suggests that these episodes represent political changes taking place in Brazilian society.