Police and electoral politics in São Paulo: candidacies and mandates of police officers in the Legislative Branch

• Grant number: 24/01860-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: Sergio França Adorno de Abreu
• Grantee: Lucas e Silva Batista Pilau
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07923-7 - Center of the Study of Violence - NEV/USP, AP.CEPID

Abstract

This proposal aims to evaluate the candidacies and mandates of police officers from the civil and military police forces of São Paulo in the Chamber of Deputies, the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo (ALESP), and municipal councils. The rise of an authoritarian rhetoric as a political platform in Brazil has contributed to the increase in the number of police officer candidacies at the national level, a trend also observed in the State of São Paulo. Building upon studies regarding the legitimacy of the police forces in São Paulo (Gisi; Silvestre, 2020; Cubas; Castelo Branco; Oliveira; Cruz, 2021; Cubas; Castelo Branco; Oliveira, 2023), this research seeks to understand how these changes have impacted the profile and political practices of civil and military police officers who have entered partisan politics and those who have been elected in that federative state. To achieve this goal, data available on the Open Data Portal of the Superior Electoral Court and on the websites of the Chamber of Deputies, ALESP, and municipal councils will be utilized. Additionally, interviews will be conducted with police officers and stakeholders in public security. These methodological approaches will allow for the identification of shifts in the candidacies and mandates of the subjects under study, as well as the exploration of the ways in which this group has come to anchor its legitimacy, both within and outside their respective organizations. (AU)