The creating of the Northeast Bank and the National Congress

moment of inter and intra elites dispute or regional consensus?

Abstract

The article analyzes the reaction of the traditional political system, more specifically of the Brazilian parliamentary elite, to the proposal to create the Banco do Nordeste do Brasil in 1959. It is assumed that the future institution would be an insulated agency of clientelist and corporatist demands which could undermine the electoral bases sustained in personalist relations. Based on the positional method and the analysis of documents, we investigated the position taken by the congressmen during the processing of this proposal in Congress, both in their speeches in the plenary session of the Chamber and in their statements to the press. As a conclusion, the analysis revealed that there was a national consensus around the new institution, in addition to the party and regional cleavages.

Keywords: Political System. Political Elites. Parliament. Northeast Region. Regional Development.