Effects of the ban on corporate donations on electoral finance networks in Brazil

Abstract

The article analyzes data from candidacies and their campaign finance filings from Brazil's 2014 and 2018 elections to respond to the following question: What are the effects of the ban on corporate electoral financing and the introduction of the Special Fund for Campaign Financing (FEFC) on electoral financing networks? We collected data from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and analyzed them with the Social Network Analysis methodology and complementary statistical techniques. As a result, we confirmed our three hypotheses: (H1) the topology of the electoral financing network remained highly asymmetric; (H2) without companies, political parties increased their centrality in the financing network; and (H3) electoral success remained strongly related to the occupation of central positions in the financing network, with no significant changes in the profiles of the most competitive parties and candidates.

elections; electoral finance; institutional change; political reform; social network analysis