José de Souza Martins

Clientelism and Corruption in Contemporary Brazil

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.

A valorização da escola e do trabalho no meio rural

As escolas de pau-a-pique ou madeira estão sempre pintadas e muito bem cuidadas pelos pais. Os alunos cultivam a horta, o pomar e cuidam da criação de pequenos animais; os produtos são utilizados na preparação da merenda escolar ou vendidos, revertendo-se a renda em benefício da própria escola. Os professores residem no local e, além das oito horas de tarefas diárias dedicadas a duas turmas de alunos, realizam trabalho comunitário com a população.

The Political Impasses of Rural Social Movements in Amazonia

It is easy, though misleading, to take the large number of land conflicts in Amazonia as a sign of the vitality of peasant movements. It is just as wrong to consider such conflicts, generically and indiscriminately, as social movements. The opposite mistake can also be made. The predominantly local character of these struggles may suggest their fragility and reveal the absence of true social movements or, a more generous hypothesis, indicate their prepolitical nature.