Modernity and tradition: political culture in contemporary Ceará

Abstract

This article discusses the confi guration of the political culture in Ceará during the 80s and 90s starting with the debate on tradition and modernity. The objective is to analyze the reach and the limit of the modernization policies and discourses by the Governments of the Tasso Jereissati and Ciro Gomes´ administrations. First of all, the article focuses on the 1986 elections and its media construction. The second part focuses on the concept of “coronelismo” in contemporary North-Eastern Brazil. Finally, the article describes the creation of the current modernizing and politically hegemonic groups in Ceará.