Zero Hunger
Political Culture and Antipoverty Policy in Northeast Brazil
Aaron Ansell
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 05/2014
Pages: 256
Subject: Social Science, Political Science
| University of North Carolina
Print ISBN: 9.78E+12
eBook ISBN: 9781469613987
DESCRIPTION
Aiming to strengthen democratic processes, frontline officials attempted to dismantle the long-standing patron-client relationships--Ansell identifies them as "intimate hierarchies--that bound poor people to local elites. Illuminating the symbolic techniques by which officials attempted to influence Zero Hunger beneficiaries' attitudes toward power, class, history, and ethnic identity, Ansell shows how the assault on patronage increased political awareness but also confused and alienated the program's participants. He suggests that, instead of condemning patronage, policymakers should harness the emotional energy of intimate hierarchies to better facilitate the participation of all citizens in political and economic development.