Electoral behavior of the new members of São Paulo's lower middle class

• Grant number: 10/13342-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: April 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Political Behavior
• Principal Investigator: André Vitor Singer
• Grantee: Camila Rocha de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the belief systems related to the voting patterns of those who became new members of the lower middle class in São Paulo after the year of 2004, when 22% of the Brazilian population left poverty and became members of the lower middle class. The lower middle class is considered here as being formed by those whose household income varies from 2,5 minimum wages to 11 minimum wages and whose per capita income varies from 0,5 minimum wages and 2,2 minimum wages. The main hypothesis of this work is that there would be a lot of similarities between the voting patters and the belief systems of the poor classes and those of the new members of the lower middle class, since these last ones were poor till recently, their political behavior should be somewhat analogous to that of the poor strata they used to belong. Considering that the poor people in São Paulo tend to vote for PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores), the new members of the lower middle class would also tend to vote for this same party. To test this hypothesis a series of interviews about beliefs and political values will be conducted with new members of the lower middle class, residents of a São Paulo's neighborhood called Brasilândia (located in the northwest of the city).

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

OLIVEIRA, Camila Rocha de. Matches and mismatches between PTism and Lulismo: class, ideology and vote in the outskirts of São Paulo. 2013. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) São Paulo.