Populismo, coronelismo e município na era pós-Vargas (1946-1964)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the status of the Brazilian município in the period known as the Post-Vargas Era (1946-1964). This period was characterized by its “politics of populism”, that is, a process that linked persons into networks focusing upon the exchange of votes for resources of the government and the wealth-producing and distributing agencies which public funds had created. This process functioned under the manipulative guidance of politicians who were characterized by no commitment to general principles or ideology; it led to the organization of the electorate within a network of amorphous political factions cutting across all party lines. The greatest beneficiaries of this process, at the local or grass roots level, were the large landowners in the municípios, also known as coronéis.