Godfathers and caciques: the dark side of corporate political activities in the State capture

Abstract

One of the non-market strategies is the corporate political activity (CPA). This strategy encompasses business activities on the relationship with the public sphere, such as lobbying, campaign donations, trade associations and public contracts. The connection between public and private spheres can bring some benefits, but it also poses risks to the democratic environment insofar as it can give rise to a capture of the State by the private sector, giving it access to the public power. To this end, the dark side of corporate political activity is explored through a unique and intrinsic case study, using public data made available by the award-winning collaborations from Odebrecht's investigation into the Carwash operation. The data were analyzed qualitatively through the analysis of thematic networks. Such methodology allows the construction of theory based on a description of the case, which opens the door to further research on the possible negative consequences of CPA. As a contribution, there is the reveal of the dark side of the CPA and how the personal relationship between Caciques and Godfathers, encouraged by organizations, can lead to organizational crimes and the capture of the state.

Keywords

• atividade política corporativa
• corrupção
• estratégia de não-mercado
• crime organizacional