DEMOCRATIZATION BEYOND UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE: THE ELECTORAL INTEGRITY IN BRAZIL IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

• Grant number: 23/11267-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Political Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Paolo Ricci
• Grantee: Paolo Ricci
• Host Institution: Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento (CEBRAP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Bruno Wilhelm Speck ; Gabriela da Silva Tarouco ; Jaqueline Porto Zulini ; Laura Cucchi ; Luis Rosenfield ; Oriol Luján

Abstract

The aim of this study is to contribute to the theoretical development of theories about the first wave of democratization. Based on the observation that most scholars have privileged an approach based on the expansion of political rights and political competition, this project investigates the issue of electoral governance with a view to guarantee "clean elections". "Clean elections" refers to the set of measures introduced to eliminate electoral fraud, understood as the control and monopoly exercised by parties/candidates over the administration of elections. The project is organized around two thematic axes. The first focuses on Brazil. Exploring the first phase of the Electoral Justice (1932-1937), the objective is to answer the following question: was the Brazilian Electoral Justice created in 1932 effective in guaranteeing "clean elections" in the 1930s? With a comparative approach, the second axis of the project aims to investigate a second question: unlike the European case, why in Latin America do politicians relinquish control over the administration of elections, delegating powers to electoral bodies and/or independent judicial institutions? The research will be based on unpublished sources scarcely consulted by scholars - such as minutes of Electoral Tribunals, electoral challenges, votes of MPs during the process of verification of powers. The comparison between Latin America and Europe is not only important for investigating different institutional choices, but it is crucial for a more comprehensive understanding of the process of democratization, emphasizing the issue of "clean elections". (AU)