"Tem gente que só procura a gente na hora da dor": ajuda na saúde e produção de capital político

Abstract

This thesis presents an ethnographic study on the implications of aid in the political configuration of a municipality in the northern Rio de Janeiro state. As a starting point we find that most local politicians were involved in the provision of informal healthcare. There were different mediations to meet the demands of illness and death. Transporting patients to the doctor, getting places in hospitals, scheduling medical appointments or surgeries, helping in speeding up certain procedures, and paying for funeral expenses were some of the activities developed by these politicians. As the field research progressed, the centrality of the health field as an arena for the production of political capital was even more evident, since it was possible to verify that the electoral success of some of these personalities was associated almost exclusively with the assistance activities in this area. For many of these politicians, the reputation thus achieved was the main social resource mobilized as a form of political legitimation. However, insertion in this universe of "assistance" was not as simple as it seemed, because it demanded a certain ethical conduct. This kind of "assistance" could produce politicians, but it could also demoralize them; for while aid in moments of suffering and pain could generate an unpayable moral debt, at the least sign of interest the politician could have his/her reputation ruined, because these domains of life were conceived as nonnegotiable. Hence, this work tries to understand the moral logics that make it possible for practices of aid, favors, and social work in the health area to conform a modality of political entry and reproduction