ABSTRACT
At the core of all theorizing about the character of Latin American politics are fundamental issues concerning the individual, his place in society, and the role of the state in overseeing the conduct of public affairs. Clientelism constitutes a concept that generally interests political scientists because the patron everywhere occupies a preeminent place and plays the role of the principal intermediary between the center and the periphery. In the broadest and most generic political sense, the term has been commonly employed by students of politics within the context of traditional big city politics in the United States. This chapter argues that the clientelism that emerged in traditional form has been modified through a process of evolutionary response to the phenomena of modernization. It explores the efforts of national elites to defend and solidify their rule—attempting in the process to develop mechanisms of bureaucratic clientelism in lieu of more traditional patrimonial tools.
