Abstract

LANDINI, Fernando. Clientelism and Political Control in Rural Argentina. Perf. latinoam. [online]. 2012, vol.20, n.40, pp.205-226. ISSN 0188-7653.

Scholarship on clientelism frequently addresses political clientelism using strong ideological presuppositions and/or neglecting its subjective dimension. In this article I explore political clientelism in a rural community of the province of Formosa, Argentina from the peasants' point of view. The results suggest that peasants consider the clientelist relation as one that recognizes their personal needs, while the bureaucracy of the state does not. Thus, they perceive clientelist ties as legitimate, criticizing only the fact that the provision of resources by patrons takes place only during elections.

Keywords : clientelism; politics; democracy; social control; peasants; Argentina.