Coronelismo, Caciquismo, and Oyabun-Kobun Bonds: Divergent Implications of Hierarchical Trust in Brazil, Mexico and Japan

Abstract

The present study analyses the character of hierarchical relations of personal dependence in Brazil, Mexico, andJapan, in an attempt to reveal their differences and implications, and, indirectly, to explain the lack of recourse to such relationships for purposes of modernization in the Latin American settings, in contradistinction toJapan. The detailed analysis shows that whereas in Japan hierarchical personalized trust contributed to societal trust, in Latin America it recreated existing uncertainties and weakened broader institutional trust. The combined perspectives of macroand micro-analysis shed light on the comparative brittleness of hierarchical trust in Latin America. The analysis suggests that the interpersonal tendencies characteristic of each setting are related both to institutional frameworks and to images of self-fulfilment peculiar to the societies in question. It is argued that it is the fragility of hierarchical trust in Mexico and Brazil that has contributed to the reformulation of patron-client relations following processes of change, i.e., industrialization, capitalistic penetration, and political