https://doi.org/10.25058/20112742.n59.10
María Lucero Ramírez Mahecha
Edna Virginia Rodríguez Acosta
Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca, Colombia
Abstract:
This article focuses on political patronage, from a symbolic and cultural domination way, deployed in individual and collective forms, by informing citizenship’s expectations, desires, and perceptions on the political arena. This analysis draws on the outcomes of project “Political subjectivities: political patronage, clientelist assistance, and social work in Soacha municipality.” This district, located in southern Bogotá capital city, exhibits the bearings of forced displacements, informal housing development, high social vulnerability, and politics mediated by clientelist practices. We aimed to understand how political subjectivities are informed by daily experiences. Data were gathered through focal groups and interviews, and analyzed following a qualitative approach. To do this, we worked with a group of female social workers and female community leaders. Findings suggest that political patronage cannot be understood as a mere corruption issue or institutional drawback but as a structural rationale informing how citizens relate to the State, to others, and to themselves as political individuals.
Keywords: Political patronage, subjectivity politics, social work, Soacha.
