The Brazilian "knack" as a power resource

Abstract

From the standpoint of an anthropological approach, this paper envisages to reach an analysis of the nature and ways of a ritualistic feature of Brazilian bureaucracy - the "jeitinho" (the knack) - a means by which people seek to attain their purposes, in spite of adverse legal provisions. From this point onward, the study intends to establish a linkage between this feature and the structure of power inherent to society, in particular, and with bureaucratic agencies, in the relationships between users and bureaucrats, or the bureaucracy. The core of the article is that "the knack" is indeed a power device, an expression of formalism, while being a strategy for development. A question which goes through the entire study epitomizes the kind of concern which has inspired its authors: how do we reach bureaucratic rationality in front of cultural values? The authors introduce an analysis of transitional societies, using the prismatic model of Fred Riggs and his studies on formalism of which Guerreiro Ramos availed himself to analyze Brazilian bureaucracy.