Clientelism and electoral politics: A case study of the local government of Mangatarem

Abstract

This is a case study of politics in Mangatarem, Pangasinan in specific electoral periods: 1963, 1967q 1971 and 1980 focusinq on the leadership strategies of Jorge C. Mendoza who won in the aforementioned years and was able to hold on to power for twenty two uninterrupted years. As far as evidence in this study is concerned, mayor Mendoza resorted to clientelism in the form of personalistic benefits and patronage practices. The key informant interviewing was employed in this study and the respondents were determined based on McCall's and Simmons' snowball sampling. Mangatarem’s electoral politics and Mendoza's leadership strategies were analyzed in the light of Lande's theory of clientelism. Mangatarem's electoral politics was marked by the reciprocal relationships between the voters and the leader. During elections, voters give preference to a person with whom they have some special connection or from whom they expect to retain employment, public work benefits or other forms of material incentives. Once elected, the leader will have to continue dispensing favors to his supporters in order to be elected in the future elections. Evidences in this study reveal that two factors are responsible for Mendoza' s ability to win in four election periods namely; clientelism and his leadership qualities. Clientelist or pate. Yage practices were not alien to the townspeople since they were resorted to by the mayor's predecessors. Clientelism took various forms like clientelism by “issue bandwagoning”, clientelism by persona patronage and clientelism by charisma. Clientelism by "issue bandwagoning" was a strategy wherein the mayor, in his desire to gain the peoples' mandate sensationalized issues or problems and attacked his opponents' inability to solve the same. On the other hand, he depicted himself as the man who could cure such problems. Jorge Mendoza also employed clientelism by personal patronage, which was characterized by his skillful ability to dispense favors, jobs, aids and beneficial projects such as feeder roads and bridges to his constituents. The voters in turn expressed their debt of gratitude to Mendoza through their unwavering loyalty and support during elections. Alongside these, the mayor was also judged according to his leadership qualities and his ability to maintain smooth interpersonal relationship (SIR) with the people and this could be labeled as clientelism by charisma. In a rural community like Mangatarem, the voters put premium on smooth interpersonal relations as well as the humility and good naturedness of the leader. Finally, SIR in the form of friendly words, good gestures, and the avoidance to hurt the feelings of others governed the relationship between the leader and his constituents. Clientelism, which involves the allocation of patronage resources by the leader to his constituents, still a very important factor in the choice of a leader. A leader seeking another term must maintain his image as a patron who is expected to render assistance in times of the peoples' needs, be it personal family problems or public exigencies. Lest he be forgotten by his constituents, the leader must give priority to infrastructure projects in order to leave a lasting impression upon the people. This strategy was more prevalent in the rural areas like Mangatarem because of the farmers' dependency upon the landlords who also maintained the image of patrons and as such had seeped through the mainstream of local politics. Furthermore, the voters choice of leader also hinged on their socio-economic status. Since the leader was seen primarily as a dispenser of jobs, those who belong to the lower class have the tendency to consider candidates who could uplift their living conditions. This voting behavior showed the Filipinos' personalistic orientations during elections. Leadership selection is a very important political exercise and as such it must be anchored on the capabilities of the candidates to lead the people. Mayor Mendoza was able to hold on to power because of patronage politics and the personalistic benefits he had granted to his constituents. Since these practices have corruptive effects, the following are recommended: an in-depth study on the ill effects of patronage practices in various places of the country both at the local and national levels must be conducted. Efforts must also be exerted toward=, voter' conscientization so that they may know the true essence of elect ions. Conscientization carries with it a political awareness from the people that leaders are dispensers of duties, not favors. Seminars of this kind could be a joint effort of the government and non-government organizations which must be launched at the national and local levels prior to every election. Moreover, academicians, social and political scientists must also take part in conscientizing the voters since they possess the necessary tools, scholarly training and research skills. Lastly, in order to minimize the corruptive effects of patronage practices, Philippine election laws must be strictly implemented and observed by the voters and the candidates respectively.