CORRUPTION 'SCANDALS' IN BRAZIL, EXCHANGE SYSTEM AND INFLUENCE NETWORKS

Abstract

The analysis of the corrupt exchange system in Brazil and the social mechanisms that gives it a structure requires understanding the negotiation process and the influence relationships involved, as well as its organizational principles and their connection with the functioning of politics. To attain such goals, we use a theoretical framework with authors from different perspectives or "paradigms" (Vanucci, 2015; Filgueiras, 2006), who approach the phenomenon of corruption and its agents in a sociological way (Granovetter, 2006), highlighting the importance of interpersonal relationships as an element defining this network of exchanges (Bezerra, 1995; Petrarca, 2021), without neglecting fundamental aspects of political economy (Rose-Ackerman, 1978). The analysis of the so-called "corruption scandals" that occurred in Brazil reveals the existence of a polycentric network in which resources are moved and relationships, whether economics or influential, are established between operators, politicians and businesspeople, which has a significant impact on the decision-making process.