Abstract

NAVARRETE ULLOA, Carlos Alberto. The meanings and rituals of sub-national elites. Intersticios sociales [online]. 2018, n.15, pp.273-308. ISSN 2007-4964.

During political action, political leaders must resolve dilemmas; for example, as popular representatives they are limited by the rule of law, but as professional politicians they must also ponder what means will best enable them to continue their political careers. This is what marks the sphere of political action. While the scope of the informal aspect is perhaps more complex, we can, perhaps, identify patterns, routines or rituals that will allow us to speak of informal institutions. This article adopts the approach of examining the cognitive maps of elites by inviting their members to reflect on the processes through which informal routines are instituted. Legislators clearly identify the moments at which the distribution of power resources is determined; but the questions of greater weight are how they take positions in those moments, how they conceptualize them, and what meanings they elaborate to interpret their scope of action.

Research on the cases of San Luis Potosi and Jalisco reinforces the characterization of “competitive corruption” developed by Ugalde. Attempts have been made to understand the meanings that legislators attribute to both their own acts and those of their counterparts as agents of the political process. Here, we discuss a complex of dilemmas that congressmen confront in the political process. The study shows that the means through which they resolve these dilemmas are many and varied, and then suggests that they reveal a weak base of convictions and democratic values.

Keywords : sub-national elites; informal institutions; Jalisco; San Luis Potosí; local legislatures.

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